Return To The Island
by Bree In Diamonds
Summary: Sequel to The Island. Picks up six months after House and Cuddy get their lives back on track from the gripping events that nearly destroyed them on and off the island, only to be faced with other challenges and vivid proceedings that lay ahead.
1. Paperwork

**Hey everyone! So I got to writing randomly, jotting anything down, trying to form a sequel to The Island without any direction, and what do you know, I ended up with a first chapter and ideas for the rest of the story. It is called Return to the Island because I do plan on having them returning there somehow for some reason, not sure on that reason yet, but stick with me, because once I find that reason, it'll rock! As always, ideas and suggestions are very welcome! And I do credit, so if you give me some ideas that I use, you will have your fifteen minutes of fame ^^**

**Enjoy :)**

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Lisa Cuddy twirled the engagement ring around on her ring finger absentmindedly. She had been doing that for the past ten minutes and spacing out rather than working on several of the new charts that were slapped onto her desk by Brenda. It had been six months since the events of the island and getting her life back. So far, so good. She hasn't been contacted by Eric or Feeney's lawyer as of yet. They've pretty much dropped off the face of the planet. That was never a good sign. It means they were up to something. Both of them were just too proud to call it quits.

Her parents, sister, and Sam were all in jail for fraud. Sam had it worse than the others. He and Karen were shipped back to Texas where she remained in a minimum-security prison while Sam was sent to a federal prison. He lost his license on the spot, his honor, and just about everything else. The last Cuddy heard, he could be in prison for up to three years. It was the same for her sister. Her parents, who were residents of Massachusetts and were sent there. They got off easy there. The laws in Massachusetts were so much more lenient than Texas. For the same crime, they were only doing a year for fraud, tops. Cuddy didn't care. The fact she had family members in the slammer that made her image look bad she cared, but not the reason for it. They got what they deserved. It just hurt her to no end that her own family would take advantage of her like that and then wish she was dead so they could continue on with what they started.

Ellie Cuddy's one phone call was to her youngest daughter. She called Cuddy's office phone and told her what an embarrassment she was to the family and to never show her face in her life again. That request hurt, zapping Cuddy's heart when she first heard it, and every time after that in which her mind chose to repeat it, but what's done was done. Cuddy came to terms with it a long time ago that her parents didn't wish to associate with her because she took a different route in her life than the one they told her to. Cuddy catching them on fraud certainly wasn't going to make for a nice family reunion.

Nonetheless, Cuddy let it go. She had other things on her mind, like House. She fanned out her fingers and looked at the engagement ring. She's looked at it so many times now since he slipped it on her finger that she could draw it perfectly on paper from memory or write a thousand words description on it without missing a beat. Her only regret is overreacting when House was hanging around with Stacy and jumping to conclusions. She had no idea Stacy was assisting him with choosing a ring. If she kept quiet, House told her he planned to either have a romantic dinner at home or take her on a date, and when she went to use the bathroom, or if he could distract her at the table, he would drop the ring into her wine glass. It didn't work that way. Instead, he threw it at her because of the whole misunderstanding. Cuddy felt so horrible as a result of that. An engagement ring was the last thing on her mind. She never expected House would ask her to marry him. He just didn't seem the type to be tied down in a marriage, or even know the definition of marriage. The island must've really shook some sense into his head. So many things happened to them, including a duel between House and typhoid fever. It's so hard to believe that both of them would be dead right now if Wilson and Cameron didn't find them. House had one more day to live at max. He made such a speedy recovery once he received treatment and that was a relief.

As the days went on, Cuddy still hadn't forgotten about her miscarriage. Her and House did keep trying. He wasn't too crazy about having a kid, but he would do anything for Cuddy. If Cuddy wanted a baby, he'd give her one. There's nothing he wouldn't do for her, except when it came to the hospital. He was still a definite defiant ass about doing his clinic duty, continued to crack jokes about her ass and wardrobe, eat all the red lollipops, and harass the nurses. He would also still always manage to gravitate to her office whether or not she wanted to see him. Nothing changed in the working world. House was still House. The board became increasingly concerned with their engagement. Cuddy feared once she came back to the hospital and got settled in, they would be setting up an emergency meeting. No sooner than her third day engaged to House, they called that dreaded meeting. She was still nervous, even though there was nothing they could officially do about it. They would just be watching her closer now to be sure that she didn't let House slip through her fingers "accidentally on purpose." They were concerned as well. They saw how she and House always attacked one another. There's no way that Cuddy would feel anything towards him except the possibility of a friendship. Cuddy explained to them that this was a unanimous choice between them. They loved each other and wanted to be married. The board was pretty much horrified. Workaholic Lisa Cuddy just doesn't come back from a near death experience and falls in love with an employee that drives her to want to rip her hair out on a daily basis. They had to ask her if she was absolutely sure she could handle things. Her job wasn't on the line and the board didn't have the power to take away her job, but they could give a powerful word of mouth to the Chancellor. Even Chancellor McIntyre was a bit hesitant on his Dean of Medicine becoming engaged to someone like House. It just didn't seem logical. After talking to the board, and assuring and reassuring that she still loved her profession, her job, and everything in between, she would not let House run wild just because they were engaged. This would still be like any other day before. House wouldn't get his own way because he became engaged to the Dean. Cuddy would see it that way.

Chancellor McIntyre also had his concerns. The board was right to consult him. He was a very busy man and really didn't have time to drop in for personal visits, but he owed it to the hospital to be sure his star Dean had everything under control. This was five months ago. Cuddy informed him that she had been employed at the hospital eight years now, House seven and a half, and things would be running just as they always have been. He wouldn't have to worry, although so far since they've been back at work, House likes to pull her chain and take advantage of things. That shouldn't be anything new. He's always been like that. Being engaged to the hospital's administrator wouldn't change that. The Chancellor knew she couldn't say no to House before, even if he came to her with some random diagnosis and a non-plausible way to treat the patient. She would always give him the green light. Chancellor McIntyre had a problem with that, yet he left it in the hands of his Dean to decide what was best. Now that they were engaged, would she be giving him the green light all the time?

Cuddy let out a large sigh and went back to work. She pulled up a favorites folder in her iTunes library to help her work faster. The Chancellor trusted her. Cuddy didn't want to hurt that trust. She's been good friends with her boss for a while and his trust meant everything to her. It including whether or not she had a job when she woke up in the morning.

No sooner did she start working that House entered her office with his cane in one hand and a lollipop in the other.

"What do you want, House?" she asked dryly, not having time to humor him.

"Nice tunes, if you like 80's." He pulled the plastic off the lollipop and stuck the sucker into his mouth.

"In which I do. Is that all you came down here for was to pick on my music?"

Any person listening in on this wouldn't think for two seconds that they were engaged. They sounded like an employer and an employee, nothing more.

"Need a consult. See, I am capable of working."

"Depends on what definition of 'working' you're using today," she added wryly, watching his eyes slowly drink her in from head to toe.

House grinned. "Oh, you're so smart. Ever since I've started living with you, you're picking up my linguistics very well. It's almost no fun anymore."

"Right, which is why I know there's no consult. You just came down to bother me…again," she added with a slight growl.

"Oh no, there is a consult. I have this horny forty something year old patient who has this fiancée that works around the clock and has no time for him. By all rights, is he able to go out and get laid by other sources or no?"

Cuddy rolled her eyes, but couldn't help laughing. "Very funny. I give you attention, House. Too much."

"You do not!" he whined. "It's going on three o'clock and every time I come down here, you turn me away."

"Because unlike you, I have work to do, and I'd like to get it done before I go home tonight. Go away. I'll be home around five if you stop bothering me for two seconds."

"I didn't know that wanting to see my fiancée was considered bothering. Maybe I should go tell my patient to call a hooker and get laid."

Cuddy shook her head in astonishment. "You do what you have to, House. I'm not arguing. Just let me get this done."

House limped around her desk and behind her chair. Cuddy turned half way around in the swivel chair with a frown, wondering what he was up to. He told her to shut up while he swiveled her around evenly to her desk. Before she could retort, House placed both hands on her shoulders and rubbed them gently. Cuddy relaxed with a sigh, lolling her head back and closing her eyes. She loved it when he did this. He had the most talented set of hands she had ever felt. His thumbs dug into her shoulder blades, kneading them both simultaneously, causing her to let out a loud moan.

"You're way too uptight, my future bride."

Cuddy snarled at the tone of his voice. "You say it like that and it makes me wonder what I've gotten myself into."

House worked at her shoulders, drawing in near her neck. "You couldn't live without me."

"Wanna bet?"

"Yes."

"House, you couldn't live a half a day without sex."

"I resent that. Three quarters of the day at most."

"Okay, so when I get home, I'm going straight to bed without you. We'll see who comes begging to one another first."

"After this backrub, woman, you're going to be begging me to take you on the desk in five minutes. You always do."

"That's because we're at home when you give me backrubs, not in my office."

"Yes, but you always get turned on after a backrub. So what do you think? Here or in the bathroom? I hear the shower's a nice place to get it on from when Chase and Cameron were testing out new places to sleep around."

Cuddy batted his hands off her shoulders and swiveled her chair around to face him. "We're not having sex in this hospital. That was rule number one from the start."

House pouted. "But I'm horny!"

"Then go find an orange, cut a hole in it, and—"

"I'm allergic to the juice. I break out."

And he would know that how? Cuddy just shrugged. "Sorry. You'll just have to make do until tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" House squeaked.

"The bet, remember?"

"Screw the bet!"

"So I win?" she asked with a grin.

"Yeah, you win, as long as I can get some when you walk through the door tonight, wifey."

"No," she said, straightening herself out again. "I need to get some work done."

House spun her around to him quickly.

"House!" she scolded.

He leaned in and kissed her on the mouth. At first, it was just a test to see if she would respond. When he felt her lips take part in this, he deepened the kiss and slipped his tongue into her mouth. Cuddy's eyes fluttered closed as she cupped his cheek and reciprocated. Son of a bitch just didn't understand the word no.

When she felt his hand slither down her blouse and finger brush up against her breast, she pushed him back. "No," she said, voice hard.

"Oh come on! You can't kiss back and not close the deal."

"Actually, I can. Get out and let me finish. If you're a good boy, maybe you'll get some action in between the sheets. And I said MAYBE," she stressed when she saw a smirk form onto his face. "Go away."

House limped away, much to Cuddy's delight. If he continued on, she might not have been able to resist him. Although she would never tell him that. It's debatable, but she knew that if he continued to press on, one of these days, he was going to get her to snap and take her on the desk. It was a fantasy of his to make sweet love to her on her desk for some reason. Cuddy didn't blame him. It was hot to fantasize about, but completely unethical. Even if she shut the blinds and locked the door, she still wouldn't find the courage to go through with it. Being uptight would kill the mood and ultimately leave them both unfulfilled.

But at home…in their bed…House was incredible. Even now that he left her office upon command, he's still on her mind, and thinking about his performances in bed didn't help her work any faster. In fact, it just clouded her mind with smutty thoughts of House instead.

Suddenly, she looked at the chart, and instead of seeing words, she saw House's face imprinted there, looking at her and talking to her. "Hey, baby," the image said. "You know you want my sexy body. Come get it."

It was her mind forming the picture of his face obviously. She was more surprised that she actually imagined him saying that to her. She berated him for coming into her office in the first place and now she couldn't stop thinking about him. Damn that man!

Cuddy tried to work on the charts. It was simple. All she had to do was read over them, think a little on what medicine to prescribe these patients, and sign her name at the bottom. She could barely perform those simple tasks without her imagining House's hand on some random part of her body, specific places that he knows sets her off.

Fifteen minutes later, she was done. She couldn't do it anymore. It got down to her just scanning the charts, putting whatever medicine she figured would work, and signing her name. Her body was on fire. She needed House.

She picked up her cell phone to text him to tell him to get home, but instead, she received a text saying that he is home and waiting for her to come over and bring the twins for a visit. Why was he home already? Oh, who cares. Cuddy shot out of her chair, slapped a good chunk of the charts into her briefcase while stuffing the others in a carrying bag, and left for the night. She was in such a hurry that she forgot to shut off the light and lock her office.

"Where are my charts?!" Brenda called as Cuddy was halfway out the door.

"Tomorrow!" Cuddy called back.

There was more on her mind right now than charts. She could already feel House kissing her as she sprinted as best she could in heels out to the parking lot to find her car. What's gotten over her?

"I'm on my way," was the text that she sent back to him, knowing any second, he would be grinning profusely, awaiting her arrival.

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**Thanks for reading! Like I said, I'm very open to accepting ideas and suggestions, so if you have one you would like to see brought to life, let me know! If not, it's cool, just kick back and relax :D Also, let me know what you guys think so far! :)**


	2. Strange Request

**Thanks for the reviews everyone! **

**I present you with smex and a jump to the M category! :D**

**Enjoy :)**

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"I hate you," she said, walking into her home and finding House there, leaning against the wall with a smug grin on his face.

"No you don't. You love me. Don't blame me because you're too horny to work."

"Yeah, and who's fault is that?"

He drew her into his arms. "Mine. I'll take credit for that."

"Oh you will, will you?"

"Absolutely." He reached in for a kiss.

She kissed back without delay. The car ride home was most aggravating. Ever since she started sleeping with House, her sex drive became uncontrollable. All he has to do is text her a few dirty words and she'll be all over him like white on rice. House knew it, too. She didn't tell him, but it wasn't too hard to figure out.

He knew he had her at the backrub.

Cuddy kicked her shoes off, never breaking the kiss. House's fingers worked at the hem of her skirt, trying to hike it up, but it wouldn't budge.

"I hate these stupid tight things," he complained against her mouth.

Cuddy smiled. "I know." At least that's one way she could tease him. The ends of her pencil skirts were so tight that he couldn't lift it up. It was a cheap thrill she had trying to watch him do it every time.

His fingers worked at the buttons and slipped it down.

"Was that so hard?" she teased. "Boys never learn, do they? They think that the next time, they'll be able to do it when it never happens."

"You better shut up if you know what's good for you, Dr. Cuddy."

Cuddy smirked. "Yeah? What if I don't?" she purred, reaching in to drive her tongue around the edge of his ear.

"Ooh I just love when you talk dirty," he said, loving the feeling of her hot breath on his ear.

"I know," she whispered into his ear and nibbled on his earlobe.

House felt her chest up through her blouse and tried untying some stupid string along the neckline of the shirt, annoyed that something like that could be there in the first place. What's the point of putting strings on the neckline of a blouse if it doesn't have a purpose other than to look good?

Soon, it didn't matter. Cuddy ripped the shirt up over her head and tossed it aside. House quickly forgot about the pointless laces and kneaded her chest through the gel bra, becoming infuriated with that obstacle instead.

"Tomorrow, you're not going to work in a bra," he ordered, attacking her neck while reaching around to unclip the stubborn article of clothing.

"Wanna bet?" she breathed, lost in bliss as he made out with the small of her neck.

"No underwear either," he added, hooking his thumbs around the elastic and dipping his hands inside to cup her ass, although it was pointless, seeing as though she was wearing a thong.

Cuddy's peak was becoming closer just by the activity at her neck and down below.

House pressed her up against him. Cuddy gasped as she felt his rock hard member jut into her abdomen. He was ready for her. He kissed upward along her jaw line and met his lips with hers, kissing her deeply. Cuddy's heart skipped a beat as she melted into the kiss. Every time she kissed House, it was always like it was for the first time. It had the feeling of new and exciting every time their lips touched, creating sparks. With all the previous boyfriends she's had, there was nothing ever new and exciting once they've kissed a few times. It was always the same old thing. With House, he kept the excitement every time. It never got old.

For something Cuddy didn't think would last, because of the reason it came about, their relationship stayed very strong. Sometimes House would have his little moments where his self-esteem is down and he questions their relationship, but it happens less often than so. He always has Cuddy there to tell him to stop saying that. She expected it from time to time. At least he opened up to her this much. It's something she never thought was possible, especially since they were thrust together by an intense situation. They weren't expected to last this long. But here they were, together, still going strong.

As far as the sex was concerned…Cuddy had to admit that twenty percent of her relationship's succession with House was based on him being a total sex god. Sex with House was perfect. He knew just what she wanted and how hard she wanted it. It's like he got into her head. Now was a perfect example of that. He knew where to attack her neck. He knew that she wanted tiny little love bites in one specific area. He knew that sliding her thong down when he did would excite her. Well, that last one was a given.

Cuddy reached her leg up and wrapped it around his waist, bringing her closer to him.

"Why is it that you're still fully clothed and I'm completely naked?" she asked sexily.

"Because you decided at the worst moment to put your leg around my waist. Kind of hard when there's a vice grip on me."

She removed her leg and avidly worked on unbuckling his pants. However, House grabbed her wrists simultaneously. Cuddy looked up at him with a whine.

"Patience, my love."

"I want you," she said with lust-filled eyes.

"Oh, I know."

"Stop teasing me," she pouted, trying to free her wrists so she could resume unbuckling his jeans.

Cuddy was a bear when she was teased. She hated it as much as the next woman. House knew this and still teased her. It was fun that way.

"Never."

"Houuuse," she whined.

He smirked down at his fiancée. "You're beautiful when you pout."

"Buttering me up will not help you."

"Yeah? Then how about this?"

He smashed their lips together again. When his hand was taken off his belt to be placed on her, she worked at the buckle again, not ceasing the kiss by any means. She gasped in his mouth when she felt the tip of his finger dip into her slit and massage her folds. That only made her want to work faster at removing his pants. When they were undone, she had to contain herself not to tear his t-shirt in two to get it off. At this point, she was fired up enough for it to be possible.

Her hands grasped the end of his shirt with the attempt to pull as she felt the tip of his finger easily slide into her.

"Bedroom, now," she demanded huskily.

They never separated once on their way to the bedroom. They knew where it was from memory, for most of the bedroom entries have been them in the throws of passion, so neither of them had their eyes open to see where they were going.

Cuddy, feeling like the administrator she was, pushed House down on the bed and crawled over him once he evened himself out properly. Over the months, and with much encouragement from House, Cuddy felt confident in herself now to where she could be on top and enjoy it very much. She liked having control over people and since House always had control over her during sex, it was time for her to return the favor.

House liked dominant Cuddy. Even though being the male, he liked doing the work to please her, but it was nice to be overpowered at times.

Cuddy straddled his hips immediately after his pants were removed. He still had his shirt on, but she didn't care anymore.

"Your boobs are getting larger. Something you're not telling me?" he snarked.

"Shut up," she whispered and reached in to kiss him while moving her hips horizontally against his growing member.

She was in charge, but House wasn't going to let her have the upper hand completely. Easily, he lifted her up and set her down on him. Cuddy cried out into his mouth as he slipped inside her almost completely.

Cuddy sat upright, placed her hands flatly on his stomach for leverage, and drove him home. House got lost in ecstasy and grasped her hips, helping her along. He lolled his head back with an extended groan as she skillfully grinded her hips into his repeatedly. She was in full control. His hands were just on her hips for show. Cuddy delved her fingers through her hair and whipped it around once House's hands supported her. He loved when she thrashed her hair around. It made her look even sexier than she was.

"Oh god, yes, House…oh…"

Feeling adventurous, House slipped his fingers past her folds and played with her clit, making Cuddy's hips buck harder against him. After that, he drove his hands up her stomach and to her chest. She covered his hands with her own and bobbed up and down harder on him. There was an overwhelming sensation of heat from the friction that House got even more excited. He pulsed inside her, causing Cuddy to groan as her peak neared.

This time, House participated. He bucked his hips upwards, thrusting deeper into her. Cuddy's breathing and cries elated as their pace quickened. House watching himself slide in and out of her excited him, much like it always does. It wasn't long afterwards that he had Cuddy crying out to the heavens as he pumped her full with his seed.

Their day didn't end there. For the next couple hours, they went at it. After that, they were spent. House gave one final thrust into her from behind and collapsed beside her, trying to control his breathing. In that last position, House was fully in charge, but Cuddy's breathing was also labored and jagged.

"Incredible. Where were you my whole life?" she asked.

"Busy trying to woo a woman named Lisa Cuddy, although she always looked the other way."

Cuddy chuckled. "Well, I'm glad she stopped being an idiot and kept her eyes forward this time."

They both reached in for a kiss. What was supposed to be a charming little peck turned into so much more and almost lead to another round of sex. The both of them could go at it for hours. Sometimes sex replaced sleep at night.

"I love that you can't resist me," he whispered through the kiss.

"I love that I can't resist you," she added, pecking his lips one final time before snuggling up beside him, tucking her head under his chin, and closing her eyes.

House threaded his fingers gently through her hair, making her feel sleepy.

"Cuddy?"

"Hmm?"

"Where do you want to go for our honeymoon?"

Cuddy laughed quietly, but it was mostly made up of air. "Why are you thinking about that now?"

"Well, when's a better time to think of it? A day before the wedding? Besides, honeymoon means lots and lots of sex, and if it's anything like it was just now, I think we should get married tomorrow."

Cuddy picked her head up and looked at him. "You would think that. Typical male."

House just smirked at her.

"Where did you want to go?" she asked, lightly making tiny circles on the surface of his chest with her fingertips.

"Back to the island."

Cuddy frowned. "The island? _Our_ island?"

"That's where it all started, didn't it?"

"Yeah, that's also where you almost died and where I wanted to give up hope on being rescued every single day."

"You know you want to go back there, Cuddy," he said, threading his fingers through her hair. "It's magical to you, whether or not you feel negative about it. Don't you want to return to the place where we fell in love?"

Cuddy chuckled. "You saying the word love still amuses me. You seem almost out of character, Dr. House."

"I'm capable of love, you know."

Cuddy just smiled.

"So do you want to or not?"

Cuddy paused before speaking. "Do you realize how weird that is?"

"People return to the places they fall in love every time. Just because ours was an island, does that make it any different? Plus, Harry the coconut needs a wife. He's lonely."

"House, it doesn't matter to me where we go, as long as we're together. I would have to think about this, though. If people know where we are and keep in contact with us by a radio or something, and we have clothes and food that doesn't comprise of bananas and crabs, I suppose I could say yes."

"Not a chance, Cuddy. We're roughing it, just like last time."

She smirked. "You got off on seeing me suffer, didn't you?"

"Oh, yeah, you got me there. I lived for it," he said sarcastically, resulting in a sharp poke in the ribs. "Ow!"

"Baby," she murmured, laying her head back down on him again.

"Will you at least think about it? Besides, I want to see if my iPod is still there."

"I'm sure it is, House, but with my luck, we'll be stranded and no one will be able to rescue us."

She felt him shrug. "Maybe, but at least when we get home, you know your stuff will be secure and no family members will try to steal it."

"Why does this matter so much to you? Whatever happened to honeymooning in the Caribbean or Italy or something? Why does it have to be where we almost died?"

"We may have almost died there, but—"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, it's where it all started, and we have to go back there to reconstitute our love, blah, blah."

"You think I'm kidding, don't you?"

"Honestly, for once, I wish you were. House, do you know how insane this sounds?"

He put his arms around her. "Maybe I just like the idea of you and me on a small remote island with no one else around."

She chuckled unhumorously. "Do you remember how awful it was going to the bathroom outside? SAND got into my…you know…on a daily basis."

House laughed. "I wouldn't know. You always made sure I wasn't looking when you went."

She frowned. "Why would you want to watch me go to the bathroom anyway? That's freaky." She wiggled away from him and sat up.

"Where are you going?"

"I need to work on the charts that you ever so subtly took me away from earlier."

"Cuddyyyyy," he whined, slapping his hand down on the now vacant opposite side of the bed.

"And yes, I will think about your rather weird island request, but since we're not getting married for another year or so, I don't have to give you an answer just yet."

Strange request...possibly. Coming from House...an even stranger request.

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**Honeymooning on the island? Stranger things have happened, right? Review plz :) And as you all know, I love ideas, so if you got some, drop 'em by!**


	3. In The Middle

**Thanks for the reviews everyone! They mean sooo much and keep me inspired :)**

**As you all know, House and Cuddy's wedding was said to be in one year. I'm rushing things to take us to that point in time, plus it gives Cuddy time to make up her mind about returning to the island. This chapter is set four months after the last.**

**Enjoy :)**

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Four Months Later

Never did she think that she would even be considering returning to that island. Granted, it's where they fell in love and started their life, but there was more harm than good involved there, most of which included House almost dying. She didn't want a rerun of that. Unless there was a four season's hotel on the island now, anything could happen. They were so lucky to have had Wilson and Cameron rescue them last time. What if help didn't come this time? It's like House was challenging fate or something. He won last time, so he's going to go back and try to win again, or to brag that he beat it last time, so he wants another challenge. It's always the challenges with him. Cuddy really hoped there was something else to that other than him proving himself to no one how macho he is. You can cheat death once; you can't cheat it twice.

Cuddy used the planning of the wedding as an excuse to take her mind off her answer on returning to the island. House didn't do much as far as the planning went. He left it up to Cuddy, who did it mostly by herself with Cameron and another close friend occasionally slipping her ideas. Sometimes that wasn't enough. Cuddy had no experience with weddings whatsoever, other than her being a bridesmaid at a wedding she can barely remember attending when she was in college. Cuddy was great with budgets, meetings, speaking in front of hundreds, maybe more, meeting with possible donors, keeping her staff in line, running the hospital like a well-oiled machine, but give her a wedding project to plan, she will freeze up and most likely fail without words of advice. Her parents were now out of jail, but like hell her mom would help her out. As far as Ellie Cuddy was concerned, Lisa could jump off a balcony. Walter Cuddy felt the same way. Karen was also out of jail, but her husband would be in there for quite some time more. The last Cuddy knew, they were all living together, probably scheming up something else. Cuddy's family was never one to learn from their mistakes, including being in jail for ten months to a year. Cuddy had a feeling that she hasn't seen the last of them. They'd be back, probably to trash her at her wedding or something. Cuddy wouldn't put it past them.

Suddenly, the bridal magazine she was looking at no longer spiked her interest and the salad she was eating was pushed to the side. She looked up just in time to see Wilson walking to her as she sat in the cafeteria.

"Hey. You okay?" he asked, sitting down in the chair in front of her.

"Just thinking. How are you and Amber?"

A lot has changed in a year since they've come home. House got a new team, Chase and Cameron were seeing plenty of each other, and Wilson found a cutthroat bitch of a girlfriend. No one liked her a single bit. Even Cuddy had issues with her.

"Okay, something must really be wrong if you're asking me about Amber. It doesn't have anything to do with that bridal magazine, does it?"

Cuddy shook her head. "No, of course not. I was thinking about my parents, wondering if they might do something stupid at the wedding."

"They don't have to know about it. Are you going to tell them?"

"They'll find out anyway. They found out about me when they thought I was dead."

"When you were dead, Lisa, not getting married. Don't worry about it. You and House are going to have a small, intimate wedding with close friends in a small vintage church no bigger than this cafeteria. And you know what? You're going to have the time of your life, because you deserve it."

Cuddy couldn't help but smile. "You think so?"

"You've met your soulmate, even though he's a giant irritable, crabby, cantankerous ass on many occasions. More than half the people in this world never even get that privilege. I still haven't met my soulmate and I've been married three times. You're lucky."

Cuddy's heart fluttered. A smile spread across her angelic face when she thought of how wonderful House was. "I am. To be honest, I don't think I could live without him. We haven't been separated for one night since our time spent on the island, not once, even when we had our little spats."

"Yeah, like that one time you guys fought a few months ago and he ended up coming over to the hotel I was staying at. He got up in the middle of the night and left because he missed you too much."

"And then that one time when we argued about god knows what and he went to your place. I wanted to go over and apologize, and he wanted to come home and apologize. We ended up at one another's places with no one home because we left at the same time and then joined in the middle."

Wilson laughed at the memory. "Oh yes, I remember that well. I told you to wait until he came back, but no, you wanted to rush home and get there before he left again."

"We met at the park at dusk," Cuddy reminisced. "I'll tell you, that was the best make up sex I've ever had, right under a huge oak tree."

Wilson's face scrunched up, making Cuddy laugh. "I don't want to know about your sex lives, really."

Cuddy apologized and Wilson's face went back to normal.

"So have you decided on what to do about returning to the island?"

Cuddy sighed. That was certainly bound to come up in this conversation, regardless of the previous subject. "Did House make you talk to me?"

"No, he didn't make me, I came on my own accord. I'm interested in hearing your side of it."

"You know what my side of it is, James. I hated that island. We weren't there long enough for me to grow attached."

"Two months is a long time, Lisa."

"Two years is a long time. Two months isn't."

"Okay so you weren't there for two years, so what? It's where you fell in love—"

"I'm aware of all this, I was there," she said on the exhale. "I lived the horror and forgive me if I don't want to relive it. I don't know why House wants to go back there."

"Does he have to have a reason?"

"Yes!" Cuddy exclaimed. "For something that asinine, he needs justifiable reasoning!"

"For House, I'd say him wanting to be alone with you in the place that had a significant impact on his life is a good enough reason for anyone. The fact that he admitted that is huge. Look at it this way, Lisa, you'd have contact with the outside world, you'd take what you need with you, and you'd rest comfortably knowing that someone's standing by to pick you up when you were done. It's that simple."

"Taking stuff with us will destroy the novelty of the idea, wouldn't it?"

Wilson shrugged. "So don't take anything except yourselves. As much as you hated it there, you loved the fact you were with House. When all else failed, you two had each other. You liked the idea of leaning on him."

"Yeah, when he wasn't begging me for sex," Cuddy muttered. "You don't know the half of it."

"Maybe not knowing is the key. Makes me unbiased."

Cuddy's face fell serious. "I wanted to die. Do you have any idea what that feels like? Every night I watched the sun set behind the ocean and wondered if I would wake up to see it again, or if House would be alive to see it again. That's why every single night we were there, we watched the sun go down as if it was the last time. When he got sick, he could barely keep his eyes open to watch the sunset. When that happened, I knew in my heart he wouldn't live to see the next day."

"But he did, Lisa."

"Yes, he lived to see one more day. If you didn't come when you did…he would've died." Tears came to her eyes. "I don't know if he would've been able to experience it one last time, or if I would. The second House died in my arms, I wouldn't want to live anymore, alone and helpless on the island. So no, you have no idea what we went through." Her voice skipped out on that last sentence. A tear fell from her eye. "I'm never going back there. I can't have him contract some unknown disease and not be so lucky this time, even if help was just around the corner. It's not happening."

Wilson bit his lower lip and nodded. "Okay." He stood up and rested his hand comfortably on his shoulder. "I won't mention it again. I'm sorry."

Cuddy shook her head. "Don't be. You didn't know. It's okay. Don't tell House I said anything. I want to tell him myself."

Wilson agreed and left after she assured him she would be okay. Cuddy dried her tears and shook the horrible memories from her mind. A few minutes later, she returned to her office after throwing out more than half her salad and tucking the bridal magazine under her arm. She suddenly wished she had at least a handful of girlfriends that she could ask opinions on regarding what dress she should pick out. She had two people that would offer her their opinions, but that's about it. They weren't the type to come over after she got out of work and threw sleepovers, poking around in various wedding magazines and popping popcorn with cucumber facial masks on. The only close people she had in her life were House and Wilson and there really wasn't much they could do when it came to the wedding gown. Cuddy always figured she had good taste when it came to her wardrobe. Picking out a gown shouldn't be too hard.

Since her and Cameron had gotten pretty close since the rescue from the island, she took a detour to the ER instead of her office.

Another huge change of events since the island was that House got himself a new team, which means that Cameron was no longer involved with diagnostics. Instead, Cuddy appointed her head of the ER. Cameron said she liked it better. Instead of answering to House, she had to answer directly to Cuddy.

Hopefully they weren't that busy down there. She wanted to talk to her about the dress, and since Cameron's free time was spent with Chase after work, she really didn't have much time.

However, instead of finding just Cameron and the usual staff down there, she found House and his new team there. House was sitting at the nurse's station, drinking something out of a huge plastic cup and playing gameboy while his team was sprawled out, attending to various patients. Cameron was seen as well in the distance, stitching up someone's arm. The ER wasn't busy, so Cuddy had to wonder why his team was down there.

"Hey, babe!" House said when he lifted his head and saw Cuddy walking in. "Come to keep us busy?"

"What are you doing down here?" she asked as a frown took over her face.

"I'm bored."

"Uh huh. Find a case and go back to your office, or go to the clinic." Just because they were engaged, doesn't mean she was going to let him get away with anything.

"What do you think we're trying to do, Cuddles?"

"I see them trying to. I haven't the foggiest on what you're doing. Whatever it is, I don't like it. You're making me regret buying you a DS for Christmas."

House blew her a kiss, but didn't move from the chair.

"House," she said in her administrative warning voice.

"Cuddy," he responded in a mock tone.

"House, I found us a case," Thirteen said, walking back with a chart and the rest of the team.

"Oh goody. I'm busy about to set a new record. All I have to do is—"

Cuddy took the system out of his hands and turned it off.

"—Beat this guy," he finished.

"The only one that's going to get beat is you," she said, drawing the system back when he made a grab for it. "I'll hold onto this. Maybe if you're a good little boy and do what mommy tells you, you can get it back."

House grimaced. "Does this mean I'm sleeping with my mother?" He shuddered.

"House, our patient—" Foreman started.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure it's important. It's probably some teenage boy who couldn't keep it in his pants and…well I'm sure you know the rest." He stood and looked down at Cuddy's cleavage. "Nice. I can never get enough of those."

She covered the deep V with her free hand and scowled at him.

"Get moving, or you don't get sex for a month," she whispered.

House's eyes widened as far as they could go, as well as the eyes of the rest of his team, but for different reasons. "You know what, I'm sorry, I can't stay and chat, I realized my team just came up with some big important case and I gotta go, so I'll see you later."

"Thank you," Cuddy said, dropping her hand.

"Bye bye, mommy," he said and leaned in to kiss her, but Cuddy backed her head up.

"Not here, House. I told you that plenty of times."

"Oh, I know." He suddenly snatched his DS from her so fast that it caused her to gasp. "I just needed you distracted long enough to get back what's mine."

"Of course you did."

"Don't worry, Cuddles, tonight will be a good night for you."

"Not if you don't get back to work it won't be," she threatened, folding her arms across her chest.

House walked away after that, motioning for his clan to follow him.

Cuddy sighed and threw her hand over her forehead.

"You sure you want to marry him?" Cameron asked, approaching Cuddy while tearing her gloves off.

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "Undecided," she joked, followed by a chuckle.

"Liar. What do you have there?"

Cameron occupied the seat House just rose from and Cuddy sat in the seat across from her, rolling over to her side. For the next fifteen minutes, they went over bridal gowns. She saw many different dresses by many different designers in the two hundred page magazine, but only one stuck out to her. Worn on a mannequin was an Oleg Cassini strapless satin gown skirt with art deco embellished detail at waist, elbow length gloves, tiara, vale, a very long train, and many matching accessories to add to it, including the perfect shoes.

"Do you like it?" Cuddy asked.

"It's very nice," Cameron said. "Although it shouldn't matter what I think. It's your wedding, not mine."

"I know, but you're going to be a bridesmaid, you have a say in this also."

Cameron handed the magazine back to Cuddy. "No I don't. It's your day regardless. How's it coming with what's her face…your old college roomie Janine?"

Cuddy scoffed. "She was always available whenever something was meant to be for her, but ever since I told her I was getting married, she disappears."

"Well, what about Laura and Sadie?"

"They won't be able to be here until the day before the wedding so I have to have their dresses ready for them and hope they fit, otherwise I'm screwed and short a maid of honor."

Cameron rubbed her hand in small circles around Cuddy's upper back. "It'll be okay. Remember, it's your day, not anyone else's. Well, except for House's. He'll be sure you don't forget that."

An unnerved Cuddy was able to find some humor in that and laughed quietly. "At least he doesn't have a problem picking out a best man."

"I thought you were close friends with Laura."

Cuddy shrugged. "Kind of. I'm not going to lie when I say I chose her in a pinch. I haven't talked to her in a few years, but we've stayed in touch by email and things. She's a lawyer, I'm a doctor, so free time for the both of us is limited. I don't even know if I have time for a honeymoon."

"Are you going back to the island?"

"Definitely not," Cuddy said, closing the magazine and standing. "House will have to tie me up and knock me out if he wants me to go back on that island."

"I think it's sweet that he wants to go to the place where you discovered one another."

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "Do you and Wilson rehearse your stories? Like I said, drug me and tie me up, then I'll go. Other than that, I'm settling for some place safe, like Vegas, or even England for god sakes. I want proper food, shelter, a comfortable bed to sleep in, and access to a bathroom with running water. Hurricanes, torrential downpours, wiping with leaves after going to the bathroom, and sleeping on a rock is not something I want to have to happen again."

"But you were with House, side by side, watching the sunset every night, curled up by a fire, all nice and cozy…"

Cuddy chuckled. "Yes, you and Wilson did rehearse your stories. I'm not buying it. If I ever successfully have kids one of these days and they ask me where I honeymooned, I'm not telling them I returned to the place where we nearly died. Not happening."

Cameron held up her hands in her defense. "Okay, alright, it's up to you. You seem pretty sure with what you want."

"Thank you. I'll see you later."

Cameron got back to work when Cuddy left.

Why on earth did House want to go back to the island so bad? Was Cuddy really mean for not granting him the wish of going? Saying no was the right answer, wasn't it?

She still had eight months to make up her mind.

---------------------

**I have done some research and I see that it is safe to fly when you're pregnant, up until the last half month or so. We all know Cuddy's going to give in to going back to the island, but should she be pregnant? I'm debating, and would like some help. It's up to you guys! Who wants to see a Huddy baby? :D**


	4. Giving In

**Thanks for the great feedback everyone! **

**Seems like my updates are getting fewer and fewer these days with all my stories. Rest assured that I haven't lost interest in them, nor did I suddenly start to have a life, go to school, or working overtime...so then I guess there really is no excuse for not updating!**

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

House was at home when Cuddy arrived around six. It was no surprise that she found him on the couch with his DS with beer and a bowl full of pretzels on the coffee table in front of him and wrestling on in the background.

"Hey, Cuddles!" he greeted. "When is dinner? I'm starving."

Cuddy dropped her leather bag off beside the piano and stepped out of her shoes.

"You have two hands, right? Make it yourself."

House's mouth dropped. "Wow. Rough day?"

Cuddy took her coat off. "No thanks to you."

"Great. Is this going to be another PMS moment, because if it is, tell me now so I can run to Wilson's."

"Do what you want, House," she said, sounding defeated and slipped away towards the bathroom.

House stood up and followed her. The closer he got to the bathroom, the quieter his steps became. The door was open a slit. He peeked through and saw her with both hands leaning on the sink and her head hung. Wait…what she crying? House saw her back rise and fall repetitively and her shoulders shake. She also looked like she was hanging onto that sink a little too tightly.

When she looked up into the mirror, House had confirmed that she was in fact crying. Her eyes were literally soaked and her cheeks had several lines that were fresh, as well as old. How long has she been crying? He didn't notice when she walked in the door. But then again, she barely looked over in his direction. She had her head down most of the time. Why was she crying? Was it something he did? No…it couldn't have been. He didn't do anything this time. The only thing he did was defy her at work. It's happened dozens and dozens of times in the past in one week alone. Something else was on her mind. He wanted so bad to walk in there and comfort her, but did she want him to? If she did, she would've stayed in the living room and wept in front of him. This is something she didn't want him knowing about.

He turned around and slowly crept away, although it was hard to be fully silent with a bum leg. There's a chance she would've heard him. If she didn't, maybe there's a way he could bring this out of her. She'd have to say something eventually, once she walked out with teary eyes and a droopy head.

Fifteen minutes later, she appeared back out into the living room to grab her leather bag she dropped off by the piano.

"Everything okay?" House asked, sounding casual. He made sure to make eye contact with her. All signs of her crying were gone, but she still looked a little tired.

"Fine. Why wouldn't it be?"

"You seemed a little on edge when you came in through the door."

"Everything's just great. Peachy," she said, flashing him a grin.

"Peachy? Okay, if something was wrong, you wouldn't say everything was okay twice."

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

House couldn't help it. He had to pry. Something was wrong with his fiancée and he needed to know what it was.

He sighed. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing!"

"You're lying."

"Yeah, well, everybody lies, isn't that right?"

"Not you." He stood up and walked over to her. "You never lie to me. But here you are. What was it…a patient? A donor? Someone screw up and break an MRI machine?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Everything's a joke to you, isn't it?"

House threw his arms out. "I'm not joking! Why do you think everything out of my mouth is sarcasm or me kidding around?"

"Because usually you are, House! Let me tell you right now that I'm not in the mood, even for your seriousness, if it's possible for you to be that way for two minutes. I'm tired and I just want to go to bed."

"It's only six o'clock. If you go to bed now, you'll be up by midnight."

Their eyes met after she stopped looking past him. Something was definitely bothering her, but what? He hadn't seen her eyes this sad since they were on the island when he got sick, and once after that when she miscarried. His heart sank when he saw tears building up in her eyes again. She hid her face.

"Lisa…" he whispered. God, not again. She couldn't have suffered through another miscarriage.

He stepped up to her just as a small sob escaped her lips. He didn't care if she didn't want him around right now. This was the woman he loved more than anything and he hated to see her cry. He embraced her. She hugged back, or rather, held onto him for dear life, letting her tears flow freely on his shoulder.

They stayed that way for minutes, not saying anything. Cuddy eventually stopped crying, due to House's gentle rocking and shushing.

"I thought I was pregnant," she said, just after he kissed her temple once more.

House sighed with relief. "I thought you miscarried again."

"I didn't get my period for a month and a half. Just when I went to book an appointment this afternoon to have an ultrasound, I start to cramp up and there it comes. I'm such a failure. The one thing my body is made for and I can't manage to do it."

"Hey…" House backed her head up and cupped the sides of her face with his hands. "You are not a failure, you got it?"

Cuddy swallowed hard.

"We'll keep trying."

"I'm forty-three, House. The older I get, the slimmer my chances are. Every day my chances are getting smaller and smaller. And if I do manage to succeed, four weeks later I'll miscarry. It's like I'm counting down the dates to a miscarriage, never mind an ultrasound or a prenatal appointment. I'm only setting myself up to be hurt again. Why can't I carry a child?"

"I don't know," House answered truthfully and ran his fingers gently through the hair at the side of her face. "But I know I'm not going to stop trying."

Cuddy chuckled weakly. "I know, free unprotected sex, right?" It was her way of trying to loosen the mood, but didn't do very well at it.

House smirked. "Right."

He hugged her again. Silence fell between them for a long while. They were just content in one another's arms, him rocking her softly.

"So I guess this is a bad time to ask about returning to the island." Cuddy didn't say anything, so he continued. "You and me, all alone in the middle of nowhere…"

"Why do you want to go back there so bad?" Cuddy wasn't angry, which was a good thing. She was always angry whenever he mentioned the island. This time she sounded like she actually wanted to listen to his reasons on going back and would give it some thought. Given the events that just happened to her, she wasn't in the mood to fight back. He figured that's why she seemed reasonable with this "ridiculous request" as she puts it. "Things are so packed right now. We have the wedding to plan, the honeymoon—"

"Honeymooning on the island, that's where we're going, Cuddy. One week of roughing it in the cave where we first came together is where I want to go."

Cuddy looked even sadder than she did a moment ago. "Do you feel you have to challenge yourself to something? Maybe catch another sickness and see if you'll live again? Is it a thrill to you?"

"It's nothing like that."

"Then what? Tell me, House, I need to know, because obviously I'm missing the point here. We could easily be alone in Vegas or Canada or something."

House sighed. "I liked the island, okay? I liked the challenges, I liked the feeling of not knowing if we were going to be rescued, I even liked getting sick for god sakes. But most of all, I liked being with you." He cupped her cheek. "Just us, all alone. It's where I told you I loved you for the first time, you just didn't hear it because you were asleep."

Cuddy's eyes grew a centimeter wider. "Does this really mean that much to you?"

"More than anything."

Cuddy sighed. "Okay…if it means that much to you…I want to do it for you. But my god, the next time we decide to go somewhere, I'm picking the destination."

House beamed. He opened his mouth to speak, probably to thank her but she stopped him before he could.

"And before you say anything, you're an ass."

His face fell serious. "Why?"

"You took advantage of me in my current state. I was depressed and you felt it was a great time to bring up the island because you knew I'd cave. Even though you were nice about it, you still manipulated me. Some things will never change."

Cuddy was more amused than upset about it. House knew what he had done, but it wasn't his full intention. When she called him on it, it did make sense. Instead of hugging her and coddling her in her current state, he mentioned the island.

"I'm sorry," he said.

Cuddy smiled. "I think I can believe that. I'm just glad I figured you out before you had a chance to gloat."

"I wasn't going to gloat."

"You so were."

"Was not!"

"Maybe not now, but by the time you were alone, or with Wilson, you'd be like, "yes, I won her over, I'm so good. Mission completed.""

House rolled his eyes. "Oh well gee, thanks for having some faith in me. Excuse me while I go take pride in front of the bathroom mirror and flex my muscles."

Even though Cuddy had a fairly awful last quarter of the workday, House, as idiotic as he was right now, cheered her up. She wasn't devastated at the fact she wasn't pregnant. It was her hoping too hard that really knocked her down. If she had a miscarriage again, she wouldn't have given in so easily to House and once he mentioned the island, she wouldn't be standing here right now, listening to it. She almost couldn't believe that she accepted this silly request. But maybe there could be a bright side to this if she thought real hard. This was going to be one hell of an awkward honeymoon. At least it was still eight months away and she didn't have to think about it a lot right now.

Cuddy made House happy. She could clearly see this in his eyes. They practically lit up like a little boy on Christmas morning. She'll never fully understand why House wanted to go back there and he may not even tell her. He enjoyed the challenges, the drama, and the symbolism it shared between them, that much he'll admit, but there was more. There had to be. They could go anywhere else in the world for a honeymoon and he chooses to go there.

"One thing though, House," she said, wiping off some of that non-Houselike joy off his face. "We're playing by my rules, or we don't play. We are bringing suitcases of clothing and blankets, having contact with the outside world, and bringing actual food."

House nodded. "Okay, I can live with that. Thank you."

She shook her head slowly. "I don't think I'll ever understand you, House. Someday you'll have to tell me the real reason why you want to go there."

"Maybe I will. I don't think you'll understand it though."

"You got that."

They embraced and kissed gently.

"I love you," he whispered against her lips before kissing the corner of her mouth.

Her heart fluttered, much like it always did when he said those beautiful words. She let a small, almost nonexistent sigh escape her partially opened lips as he kissed down her jaw line slowly, planting full kisses there, and then ending up at her neck.

"I love you, too," she said, speaking now before he made it impossible for her to speak later. Just this action alone was starting to take her breath away, literally. It never took much on his part. A few passionate kisses here and there and she melted in his arms.


	5. It's All Downhill After The Dress

**Hey everyone!**

**Sooo sorry for the wait! Issues with the muses again.**

**I'm speeding up again. This takes place one month after the previous chapter, which leaves only three months until the wedding, so we're making good time. **

**Enjoy :)**

**----------------**

One Month Later

"You want to know the real reason why I want to go back to the island?" House asked Cuddy as they lay together in their bed, her in his arms, like always. "Well, one of them?"

"Shoot."

"Harry needs a girlfriend. He's too lonely."

"House, Harry's a coconut," she muttered, wishing he forgot that stupid thing on the island. He treats it like one of his tennis balls at work and uses it to throw around while he's thinking. Hopefully one of these days it cracks open.

"He still needs a mate."

"There's no such things as genders in coconuts."

"Just you wait, I'm sure I could find one that's the perfect partner for him. Maybe I can spot one with no hair and call her Baldy."

Cuddy laughed quietly. "Whatever, House."

A pause settled in the room as the two relaxed. House lay on his back and Cuddy had her head on his chest and rubbing the area beside it in small circles with her hand. She did this a lot before they went to bed. It calmed him. She felt his arm snake up around her and hug her closer to him. She smiled when he kissed the top of her head, as well as breathe in the scent of her hair. He always did that.

"Hey…" he whispered a moment later, sounding tired.

"Hmm?"

He lightly played with her curls. "When we get married…can I still call you Cuddy?"

She chuckled and turned her head, resting her chin on his chest while looking at him. "What makes you think I want to change my last name anyway?"

"Don't you?" he asked.

"I never gave it much thought. I've been Lisa Cuddy for forty-one years of my life. I don't know if I'd adapt well to being called Dr. Lisa House. Plus, what makes you think you deserve the pleasure of me having your last name?" she joked.

"It's the law."

"It's not a law," she said, poking him in the ribs. "I like Cuddy, and so do you. I don't think you want to end up calling me House. That would get pretty confusing amongst us all."

"Yes, it would. Looks like I'll have to start calling you Lisa."

Cuddy frowned as the foreign name passed through his lips. "Seriously?"

"Well, that IS your name, right?"

"Not to you. I don't like it. Even if I do change my last name, you will never call me Lisa."

"Everyone else does," he pouted.

"Not true."

"Very true."

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Shut up, House."

"Make me."

She smiled. "Okay." She reached her head up and kissed him on the mouth. He kissed back, fingers getting lost in her hair.

She pulled back seconds later. "Much better."

"That's it? But what if I keep talking?"

"Then you get no sex for a week."

His mouth dropped, as if that's the most horrid news he's ever heard. "That's not fair!"

"AND you get no sex on the island."

"That's really not fair!" he whined. "Okay, fine, I will never call you Lisa ever again. The name will never cross my mind. When some donor is asking for you, I'll say I have no idea who Lisa is and send him elsewhere."

"You better not!" she scolded. "Okay, how would you feel if I called you Greg?" she added, raising her eyebrow.

"That is my name, right?"

"You know what I mean."

"Cuddy, we're going to be married. What happens when we have a child? Are you really going to refer to his or her father as a humble abode all the time?"

Cuddy's smile disappeared, which was complete opposite from what House was expecting. "Well, I don't think we'd have to worry about that. I can't get pregnant, obviously."

Cuddy suddenly went solemn on him. She cast her eyes downward and bit her lower lip, much like she always does when she mentions her being a failure when it comes to trying to get pregnant.

House ran his hand down the back of her head repetitively. "I'm not giving up."

"Do you even want a child?" she asked quietly.

"I just said I'm not giving up, didn't I?"

"House, knowing you, you're just in it for the sex."

House didn't know if she was joking, or if she was serious. Her tone could've gone either way. She didn't make eye contact, so that sort of tipped it off that she was a bit on the serious side.

"Hey, I resent that," he said, trying to joke it off.

"You don't want a baby. I know you don't."

She tried to sit up and put distance between them, but he held onto her so she couldn't move. Every time they talked about her being pregnant or even names for a child, Cuddy would clam up and try to recoil away from him. House could promise to be the best father life has to offer, but it wouldn't matter. She'd still find a reason to slip away from him, as if talking about having children with him offended or bothered her.

"Talk to me, Cuddy. If I didn't want a baby with you, why am I trying so hard? You know, we have this conversation every night and I'm getting a little sick of trying to reassure you when you don't even listen to me. What can I do to prove it to you? Huh? Buy baby clothes? Come home with a sack full of toys, what?"

"You're an ass," she said, sliding out of bed and donning a robe. "You think you can make jokes about this?"

"Who's joking? Cuddy—"

"Stop, House," she interrupted, followed by a sniffle. "This is a very tender subject to me and you always find ways to bring it up."

"I didn't bring it up!" he said, defending himself.

She walked over to grab her pillow, intending to sleep on the couch, when House reached over and grasped a hold of her wrist. Blue met blue and oceans started piling a mile high on shore, solely with the intent of slamming onto anything in its path and destroying it so that it was no more.

"You want to know why you can't get pregnant? Because you spend every night on the couch, rather than in this bed, doing something about it." House didn't care if he sounded harsh. Cuddy bolting every time he mentioned the word 'pregnant' was getting on his nerves. He couldn't remember the last time they had sex because of her finding reasons to go sleep on the couch. That's usually the first clue that a relationship is about to break up. The second is the female can't get pregnant and her inability to do so causes the relationship to break up. House and Cuddy fell in easily with one and two. That wasn't a good sign and they weren't even married yet.

"Or are you just finding excuses to get away from me?" he added after a brief pause, grip not loosening on her wrist.

"Let me go," she said in a small voice, lightly tugging her arm.

"You're afraid to sleep with me. You're afraid that if you do get pregnant, you're going to miscarry again. So your solution is to avoid sex completely because you can't ask me to wear protection without a very good explanation."

Cuddy furrowed her brows at him. "Stop analyzing me and let go."

"There's a reason the first thing that came to your mind was that I'd get no sex for a week a moment ago. You want to forget about it completely and instead of telling me in all seriousness, you bring it up as a joke. Christ, Cuddy, help me out here, hot or cold?"

Cuddy said nothing. She bit her lower lip.

"You haven't made love to me in weeks," he said, voice much lower.

"Yes I have," she said, even quieter.

"Oral doesn't count. I'm tired of hearing about how you have a meeting the next morning or how your headache is crippling you from making a move on me. Picking fights with me and running isn't going to work anymore either."

A tear fell from Cuddy's eye.

"You finding every alleged reason to get away from me isn't working anymore. You think that making me feel like shit will make you feel better?"

"I wasn't thinking about that."

House let go of her wrist and Cuddy didn't move.

"Clearly."

"House, I've had three miscarriages in my life and every time I had them I thought I was going to die of heartbreak. This past one ten months ago was it for me. Everything went downhill after that. If I keep having sex, there's a chance I'll get pregnant, and an even greater chance I'll lose it." She let a small sob escape her lips. "I want a baby so much that I'm afraid to get pregnant. I'm afraid to have sex!"

House pulled her back into bed with him and held her close. She sobbed on his t-shirt clad shoulder and soaked it completely.

"Don't hide from me again, Lisa," he whispered, kissing her temple. "If we have to, we'll adopt." He rocked her gently in his arms.

"No," she said. He felt her shake her head. "I want my own."

"Surrogacy?"

"Not even that." She pulled her head back to look into his eyes. "I want to have my own."

He brushed his fingers gently through her hair. "Are you sure?"

Cuddy knew it would be hard on her. She avoided this for as long as she could in order to think. She wanted her own baby and wanted to go through all the steps herself, but with every miscarriage she has, she looses part of herself and places a scar on her heart that can never be healed. When she lost hers and House's baby ten months ago, it tore a gash in her heart that never healed. Not a day goes by where she doesn't think about that baby and how right now she would be somebody's mother.

Cuddy had hope that even though she had pain, one of these days, it would be replaced with pleasure and happiness.

"I'm sure," she said and leaned in to kiss him gently on the mouth, her tears seeping through, causing a salty kiss.

They made love that night.

* * *

With three months before the wedding, Cuddy had a lot to do. She was so caught up in the fear of becoming pregnant that she didn't have time to sort out the wedding.

Her and House agreed on a small wedding with just close friends and family. House didn't have many family, just his mom and dad, and Cuddy had no one. As far as she knew, her parents and sister were still in jail and Eric dropped off the face of the earth months ago after the trial. They wouldn't come a hundred feet of this wedding to save their lives anyway.

Cuddy's side came up to about ten people in total and it was even less on House's side. That was fine with Cuddy. It saved her on having to purchase large amounts of invitations. House helped her as well by going out to be a big boy and purchase his own tuxedo. Wilson accompanied him, as the best man should. They left the hospital on their lunch hours and drove to a mediocre Men's Warehouse a few miles from the hospital. House hated wearing tuxedos and dreaded this wholly.

"Does Cuddy know you're doing this?" Wilson asked, pulling into the parking lot.

House was too busy whining about looking like a penguin to care what Wilson just asked him.

"But you know what I don't get, Jimmy boy?" he asked, stepping out of the car. "Why is it that men can rent tuxedos, but women can't rent gowns?"

"Well, in your case, the groom has a short term memory about the wedding, so the tux doesn't mean anything. With women, the wedding lives on forever, so they get to keep their gowns."

"That is so sexist."

"House, if you want, we don't have to rent one."

"No, no, renting one is fine. I'm not coughing up a thousand dollars to own a penguin suit."

They walked through the doors and was immediately greeted by a beautiful woman, who sort of looked like Cuddy, but a little taller, wearing stilettos and a black pencil skirt. House found a hard time taking his eyes off her long legs.

"Are you single?" House asked immediately after she asked them if she could help them today.

"Excuse me?" she asked, looking back at him with a pair of amazing green eyes.

"House!" Wilson hissed.

House jutted his head to Wilson. "He's looking for a date to bring to my wedding. You free?"

The young girl blushed noticeably.

"He's a doctor and everything!" House said with surprise. "I'll leave you kids alone."

Wilson felt even more awkward than the girl was. He apologized and walked into the store with House.

"I can't believe you did that."

"Sure you can. Ooh Jimmy's blushing!"

"Stop, stop," Wilson said. "Let's just find you a tux and get the hell out of here. I'm never going out with you again."

"You killjoy. I try to set you up with some stunning, sexy lady and you blow me off."

"I'm dating Amber!"

House grimaced. "You're not going to bring her to the wedding, are you? It's bad enough I have to hear her dumb differentials in the office, do I really need to hear her voice at my wedding, too? You're not going to marry her anytime soon, right?"

"House, we're just dating. No one's marrying anyone, except you and Cuddy, which isn't a match made in heaven."

House eyed him. "How long have you been sitting on this information?"

"Since Cuddy came to me and announced you were getting married. I feel very bad for the woman."

Both of them started thumbing through available tuxedos. Wilson did more work than House.

"Jealous?"

"Of you? Hardly."

"No, I mean of Cuddy, because she's the one marrying me and not you. Jimmy, if I knew you wanted to marry me, I would've asked you first, I promise!" He said this so loud that people within earshot were looking over at them with a frown.

Wilson kept his head down. He expected this sort of thing from House. He should've stayed at the hospital and ate lunch in his office, acquiring some peace and quiet and a House-free existence. But no, he decides to go out and help his best friend and instead of being rewarded, he's kicked where it counts.

"Better stop or I'll tell your fiancée that you're cheating on her with me," he said in a normal-toned voice.

"I dare you. See what she says."

"She'd laugh in your face, that's what." Wilson pulled out a tuxedo and showed it to House. "How about this?"

House turned his nose up at it, which wasn't a surprise. "Maybe for you. I don't like ruffles. I want one of those t-shirt tuxedos instead."

Wilson scoffed, putting the tuxedo back. "You are not wearing a t-shirt tuxedo, House. We are leaving here with a regular tux, whether you like it or not, so stop being a baby and pick one out. If not for yourself, do it for Cuddy."

House mumbled something and continued to look more closely at the proper tuxedo for himself.

* * *

"It's all downhill after the dress," Cameron told Cuddy as the two skipped out for an hour to look at wedding gowns.

Since Cuddy's friend wasn't able to make it until the day before wedding as her maid of honor, she had to take Cameron with her. The two weren't that close to begin with. They were practically two strangers going together. Nonetheless, Cuddy did thank her for coming out with her.

"I've heard that," Cuddy said, putting on a smile.

Cuddy was excited to be here. The moment she walked in, her eyes became misty. She's always dreamt of walking into a wedding gown boutique for herself.

The place was beautiful. From top to bottom, there were white gowns of all sizes and designs. Crystal designs and little knickknacks covered the display cases. A spiral staircase stood a few feet away to take them up to the second level, which was also filled with wedding gowns, as well as other gowns for bridesmaids and flower girls, and just about any accessory one could imagine.

Cuddy and Cameron went through many makes of dresses, some which included Ella Rosa, Michelle Roth, Jessica McClintock, Antoniette Catenacci, and many others, but there was one designer that stuck out to Cuddy. Mia Solano, which was also featured on a mannequin. This satin gown was displayed in ivory, but was available in white. It was a halter-top design that had the most beautiful beaded pattern in the front with a long train, veil, and just about every accessory available that went wonderfully with the dress. Cuddy touched it. The satin glided effortlessly through her fingers.

"I want this one," she said, not taking a second to think about it.

"It's very nice," Cameron said, also feeling it.

"Ah, our best seller," some random woman said, speaking up as if she were there the entire time. "Mia Solano, a very gifted Italian designer. There aren't many styles left like this. It might go fast."

"Do you have it in white?" Cuddy asked.

The woman smiled. "First wedding, huh?"

Cuddy smiled back. "Yeah."

"We can order it for you. It would take a month to be made and about six weeks after that to be shipped. When is your big day?"

"Three months from now. July 18th."

The woman nodded. "You'll have it in plenty of time. Can I interest you in accessories, or bridesmaid's dresses?"

Cuddy looked over at Cameron, who shrugged. "We're making good time, so sure. How much is this gown anyway?" she asked.

"Fifteen hundred," the woman said, not breaking her smile. "But if that's too much, you can always make payments."

Cuddy shook her head. "No, it won't be a problem."

She wasn't going to let anything ruin her day.

An hour and seven thousand dollars later, Cuddy and Cameron left the boutique. The dresses, including others for her Maid of Honor and two additional bridesmaids and accessories for everyone would be sent to Cuddy's house in a little over two months, which didn't give her much time if the dresses didn't look good on her and the others, or didn't fit. With her luck, that might happen.

Guess it's not downhill after the dress.

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**Okay, I know what you all are thinking...How could Cuddy have it in her to buy a dress after the incident with the baby thing, and how could I add them both in the same chapter. To be honest, I don't wanna dwell on it. I wanna hurry up with this wedding so they can get to the honeymoon, so I made her move on quickly. The wedding is in the next chapter. Half will be the wedding, half will be on the way to the honeymoon. I'm sure you can all guess where they're going :D**

**Please review! Thanks :))**


	6. The Big Day

**So sorry for the wait! And thanks for the feedback for the past chapter!**

**I hope no one lost interest because it took so long to update. I have decided to do a Huddy wedding. I figured what the heck. We could all use a bit of Huddyness after what's been going on.**

**Enjoy :)**

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Before Cuddy could realize where the time went, it was already July 17th and a day before she was to be married to her soulmate and the love of her life, albeit a huge pain in the ass in a daily occasion, but Cuddy didn't want it to be any other way. She knows what she wants, and right now, she wants House. She figures the best gift she could give him was a traditional wedding rather than a Jewish ceremony. Cuddy understood her background, but didn't celebrate the Jewish holidays or act on any Jewish laws and passages. Traditional wedding was fine and less complicating.

Things were running smoothly. The venue was chosen, the guests were arriving on schedule, the flowers were arriving on time, decorations were in place, rehearsals were complete and everyone knew their places and what to do for the big day, Cuddy's dresses came as expected and fit her as wonderfully as she hoped it would, and everything else fell nicely into place. It all fell together too nicely, as if this were her prize before the fall. Everything was going to great now that something bad must be in store for her. That's always how it goes.

And then it happened. Cuddy was at the hospital and getting the temporary Dean all set up when she got that dreaded phone call that would ruin her wedding.

"I can't make it tomorrow, Lisa," her Maid of Honor, Laura, said, who wasn't going to be able to be here until tomorrow morning, due to her tight schedule with being a lawyer. "I just got the biggest case of my career and I can't turn it down. I'm so sorry."

A little notice would've been great! That was it, that was the little thing that would throw the rest of her day off. She jinxed herself and it paid her back.

Cuddy sighed. "It's okay, Laura, don't worry about it."

"I'll pay you for the dress and anything else that I've ruined for you. I'm so sorry."

Cuddy waved it off. "Don't worry about a thing. Let's keep in touch. Enjoy your case."

They chatted for about a minute more and that was the last Cuddy would hear of Laura for a while. Cuddy slapped a hand over her face.

"Something wrong?" the temporary Dean asked, nosing around through the top drawer of the desk.

"No, not really." Cuddy tossed the phone back into her purse. "Anyway, I'm sure you remember what happened the last time I was away."

"You were dead," the Dean said flatly.

"Uh…yeah, kind of. Just…don't take in any donors or anyone named Eric and Zachary Feeney and you'll be all set." She scooped up her purse and jacket. "And that's it. You should be good for two weeks."

Her temporary looked at her as if she had seven heads. "I'm not an idiot, you know."

"Right, right. Bye."

Cuddy left in a hurry, wondering what to do about her Maid of Honor. She didn't have anyone else to fill the spot and she couldn't very well just leave it empty and forget there was supposed to be someone there by her side. Laura really wasn't a wise choice anyway. Cuddy barely knew her. She wasn't going to promote Cameron, Amber was definitely out of the question, and Thirteen…absolutely not. It's bad enough Amber and Thirteen were attending the wedding in the first place. Cuddy actually wasn't sure why Thirteen was coming to begin with. House's excuse was that Foreman needed a date. But she was his guest, so she really couldn't say anything about it.

Cuddy thought about who she could ask while she drove home. Little did she know that the answer would be waiting for her on her front steps, literally. And she wasn't happy about it.

At first, she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, but they weren't. It would be a cruel joke if they were. But at least it would be a joke and not real.

It was very much real. After a year and two months, her sister had come back and was waiting for her on the front steps of her home. Cuddy groaned aloud, parking in the driveway. Just when this day was going so well, it suddenly starts to fall apart.

Karen hadn't changed very much on the outside in the past year. She still had tight ringlets for hair, about the same length as last time, cold grey eyes, and the same taste in terrible clothing. Now the question was—why is she here? Did Cuddy want to trust her with whatever it is that she came here to offer or need? For whatever reason she was here, she had a lot of guts doing so. And there was no car parked at the side of the street. How did she get here?

"Hi, Lisa," she said as a skeptical Cuddy wandered up her sidewalk with her briefcase in hand.

How would Cuddy greet back? She couldn't say the first thing that came to her mind, because that was the meanest she could possibly get, so she said the next thing that wandered forward.

"What do you want?" she asked, trying not to sound too cold. "I'm having a house sitter while I'm on my honeymoon, so don't even bother trying to take my jewelry."

Okay, so the first thought blended in with the second thought.

"That's not my intention, Lisa," she said. "I never wanted to hurt you. Mom, dad, and Sam are the greedy bastards. I just went along for the ride. I know we've never been close—"

"What do you want?" Cuddy asked again, a little more firm. "I don't have anything to offer you, Karen. My trust in you left a long time ago. You swindled me. I don't care if mom and dad were the brains behind this, you still went along with them. For that, I can never forgive you. Get off my property before House sees you."

"I don't care if he does. Lisa, you're my sister. You're my only sister. I want us to be close and I'm not saying this because I want something."

Cuddy saw tears in Karen's eyes. Was she just a good actor, or were they real?

"I lost my job, my children were taken from me, and I divorced Sam. I have nothing left. I know you're not the type of person to let someone freeze out on the streets, especially your own flesh and blood."

"So you do want something, and you're going to guilt me into giving it to you. And you're not going to freeze in July."

"No, that's not my—"

"I will give you money to stay at a motel for a few days. I don't want you to show your face around here, flesh and blood or not. You want to talk family? No family member of mine would do what you did to me. I know we have never been close, but that gives you no reason to do what you did. If you didn't want to do it, you shouldn't have. I'm sorry about your girls. It breaks my heart knowing they were taken away, but not so much that it was from you."

Karen looked authentically hurt. More tears came from her eyes.

"Wait here. I'll be back with the money."

"I don't want your money," Karen said as Cuddy tried getting away. "I got enough of that. It's family I don't have."

"You should've thought about that before. I'm sorry, Karen. You're not a sister of mine. I'm not sure you ever were."

Both of them exchanged the same sorrowful stare for a good few seconds before Cuddy turned completely around and entered her home, shutting the door behind her, metaphorically closing her sister out of her life forever.

Or at least that's what Cuddy thought. House came home an hour later, shouting Cuddy's name throughout the home until she answered, appearing in the foyer, wondering what all the yelling was about.

"Why is your sister sitting outside on the front steps?" he asked.

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "She was here earlier. She wants to be forgiven and let back into my life."

"Forget it!" House said.

"I know, that's what I said." Cuddy moved to the window and looked out. Her sister was still sitting there, and in tears. She sighed.

"The only reason she's sitting out there is because she wants to borrow money, and—"

"She doesn't want money. I already tried." She looked to House sympathetically. "I thought she'd leave by now."

House looked worried. "Oh no, don't tell me you're planning on inviting her in! Have you forgot what she and your parents did to you? Her husband was the mastermind!"

"Her husband was, not her. I don't know…I feel bad for her. Her girls were taken away, she—"

"She should've thought about it before she went and did what she did. Lisa, she's not coming into this house. She'll eventually go away."

"So what, you're the only one who can be manipulating and conniving?" Cuddy asked, folding her arms. "Speaking of, what are you doing here anyway? The bride isn't supposed to see the groom the day before the wedding and I still have to find a Maid of Honor."

"What happened to Laura whoever?"

"Biggest case of her career I was told."

House scoffed. "Bull. Figures the day would be ruined for us. Now, out of the blue, SHE comes dropping back into your life," he said, throwing a finger towards the front door.

Cuddy sighed and threw her hand over her forehead. "House, just go. Go to Wilson's, like you're supposed to be doing. Why are you here anyway?"

"I forgot my tie," he said.

"No you didn't. Your tie was with the suit."

"Okay, fine!" he said with mock exasperation. "I wanted to see you. I missed you." He took her into his arms. "And I knew you'd be all alone because you didn't have a Maid of Honor to keep you busy with watching TV and reminiscing about all the stuff you used to do as teenagers."

Cuddy smiled, holding him close to her. "I can manage being alone for a night. What do you think I've done my whole life before you came along?" She reached up to kiss him gently on the mouth.

Both of them seemed to forget about Karen for a moment, or at least until after their small kissing session.

"What are we going to do about her?" House asked, Cuddy still in his arms.

"I'll take care of her. Don't say anything to her on the way out, okay?" She trailed a finger across his cheek stubble.

House smiled an actual true, genuine smile. "I don't think anything will ruin tomorrow," he said, running his fingers through her curls. "And especially tomorrow night."

She poked him in the stomach. "I swear you only wanted to marry me for the sex."

He shook his head. "No way. I could get plenty of that without a piece of paper."

She grinned, reaching up to kiss him again. "I think that's the sweetest thing you could've ever told me."

He pulled her closer again, wrapping his arms around her waist. "What about…I love you?"

Cuddy grinned and blushed. "That's the sweetest."

She kissed him. Both of them wanted more, but it would have to wait. House left moments later, forgetting about Karen. He trusted Cuddy to come up with a good plan to get rid of her. He figured she would. Who would keep around someone who tried to con you out of your home, savings, and just about every other materialistic possession? Cuddy would do the right thing, family or not.

Or so he thought. House would be getting a very big surprise at the wedding tomorrow. Cuddy acquired a Maid of Honor after all. The second he entered the church with Wilson, Cuddy's party was already there, including Cameron, some Sadie lady that he never heard of, and…Karen playing the Maid of Honor. His stomach twisted into a tight knot at the sight of that woman in violet with her hair pinned up neatly, elbow length gloves on just right, purple and white carnation bouquet held daintily in her hands, and a huge smile plastered upon her face. House knew that smile wasn't because her sister was being married and she was a part of the wedding; it was because she had something scheming up in that huge, NASA brain of hers. She lost her job there, but that doesn't mean her brain stops working. She was cooking up something. He was sure of it and felt furious with Cuddy, but this was her day. This was his day. This would be the only wedding either of them would ever have and they wanted to make it a good one. Still, that didn't stop House from fuming in the dressing room with Wilson, who tried to fix House's bowtie, but House was being stubborn.

"Did you see her out there?" he asked, speaking of Karen. "Isn't she supposed to be in the dressing room with Cuddy? Interesting that she isn't. Isn't she supposed to be walking down the isle?"

"House, stop. She's not planning anything. Don't get Cuddy worked up if you have no proof. It's your wedding day. Just ignore Karen for now. The reception is the time for arguments and regret."

He tried to make light of the situation and even chuckled after his own joke, but House didn't find it the least bit funny. It's because his mind was focused elsewhere.

"What could she want?"

Wilson sighed. "Maybe she wants to be a part of her sister's life? She realized she messed up and now she wants to be forgiven. The smile on her face means she's given a second chance and she likes it. You're reading too much into it. Don't ruin this for Cuddy or I will hurt you," he promised.

House rolled his eyes. "I won't do anything. This damn wedding cost me an arm and a leg, I'm not going to mess it up. Give me my cufflinks."

Wilson pinned them onto House and tapped his back. "Let's go get you married."

When House and Wilson took their places at the altar, Karen was no longer there. Instead, when Canon in D major filled the walls of the church, the bridesmaids were the first to make their march down the isle in pale pink gowns. Cameron and Sadie smiled widely as pictures were taken of them. Karen followed, also wearing a smile. She never faltered and acted like nothing happened in the past between them. House forgot about her temporarily though. For one, he was feeling very nervous for the first time in his life, being married to someone he loved, and two, Cuddy appeared at the back of the isle, looking over at him with a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye. He didn't realize he was grinning back until he felt the sides of his cheeks start to hurt.

She looked so beautiful in the overflowing white gown with the long train, veil, and huge bouquet of white roses in her hands. House knew he was the one who created this magical day for her. Because of him, she was getting married. Most of all, she was being marred to HIM of all men in this world. For years, he never deserved her. For the past year and a half, he didn't deserve her love. The entire time, he thought they were doomed because of the island. Instead, it brought them together and showed them a new direction in life—a life involving the two of them. House wasn't a man that believed in fate or miracles, or even true love, but in watching Cuddy walk down the isle with misty eyes, walking towards him, he believed. A jerk like him doesn't get this fortunate unless there were greater forces involved, lending him a hand.

He had one shot at this. He wasn't messing it up.

He joined hands with Cuddy when she came to him. Her hands trembled, causing him to chuckle. It felt good knowing he wasn't the only one who was shaking in his shoes.

"You look so beautiful," he whispered to her, feeling the urge to reach in and kiss her.

She thanked him, a tear running down her face. She purposely didn't wear mascara because she knew she would be tearing up.

The father got through all the basics as they were up there and it didn't take long. Soon, it was time for their vows. House planned to just wing it, but Cuddy was prepared. She knew what she was going to say and rehearsed it many, many times the night before. She planned to rehearse them in the mirror, but did so with Karen instead.

Cuddy didn't know this type of fear existed. She tried to look deep into House's eyes, pretending she and him were the only ones in the room. It didn't work. She felt everyone looking over at her, as if this was a medical conference and she were speaking in front of hundreds that would snicker and laugh if he got one word wrong or was hesitant on what was to come next.

"Relax, Cuddy," he whispered so only she could hear him.

Cuddy forgot all about what she was practicing and said whatever came to her mind. It wasn't hard, because it was all from the heart.

"House…" she started, voice a little shaky, but she overcame that. "Greg…I was blind for years. Not physically, but I might as well have been if I didn't realize what was there right in front of me. It took a dangerous event, a peril, which threatened our lives for me to realize how much I loved and needed you. I thank you for giving me this blessed event and in turn, I promise to love you, honor you, and cherish you for as long as I live." Cuddy couldn't go on, because her voice started to skip out on her during the end of that last sentence.

House brushed away her tear with the pad of his thumb and extracted "awwws' from the guests.

It was his turn next.

"Lisa Cuddy, no man's life is complete without you in it and I'll be damned if I know why you chose me, but I feel fortunate that you did. I was so bitter that I didn't deserve anyone's love. I feel that with or without the events that pushed us together without our consent, my feelings for you would be no different than what they've always been. You were always going to be the woman I married someday. I just wasn't sure if I could get you to feel the same way." He chuckled lightly, as well as Cuddy and a few guests. "But here we are, in front of family, friends, coworkers, and I'm promising you this—I will be here for you until the end of time. And if there's a way I can keep being with you after that, I will find it. Am I making a big enough fool of myself?"

Cuddy went to laugh, but a sob came out instead. House looked around. "How's this for being out of character!"

He got the guests to laugh, which calmed him down a great deal. It calmed down Cuddy also, who slapped him in the arm jokingly with her gloved hand.

After that was complete, the father completed the ceremony and they kissed. It was simple, even though the two wanted it to be so much more.

After the wedding, they had the reception, but it only lasted a couple hours, for their flight to Hawaii was in the late evening. They would stay in a hotel that night and then fly out to the island early the next morning for two weeks of being together and whatever else that seems to get in the way. If only they knew what that was, they wouldn't have made this their honeymoon destination.

* * *

**Since the next part hasn't been written yet, I'm doing a poll, mainly cause I'm not sure where to go. They're going to a hotel when they get to Hawaii. Should I write that part, also filled with some yummy honeymoon smex, or just open the next chap to where they arrive at the island and just have it understood that something went on with them in the room? It's up to you guys. Every vote counts! :)**


	7. Hawaii

**Sorry for the wait. Thanks for the feedback! I'm glad you guys liked the wedding ^^ I was listening to Canon in D when I wrote the scene, so I was in a bit of a sappy mood. Thanks for voting as well! Hope this next chapter pleases everyone :)**

**Enjoy :)**

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"I don't understand why we couldn't just go straight to the island," House said as they walked into their hotel room for the night.

The time was going on midnight and both were tired from the long day. Evidently, Cuddy was a bit on the moody side and House was just afraid to get his head snapped off if he responded the wrong way.

"Because no one is going to give us a ride at this hour." Cuddy stacked her suitcases no the dresser, one by one until all three of them looked a budding pagoda. She also had three larger ones with wheels on the side. "And plus, it's the last time I'll have running water and a soft bed for two weeks."

"Cuddy, we'll be surrounded by endless amounts of water. What more do you want?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "I mean FRESH water."

House smiled a bit. "I bet the streambed is still there. Remember that?"

Cuddy scoffed. "My thighs are still burning from our little escapade in the streambed. How could I forget?"

Cuddy wasn't being sarcastic. She sounded angry if anything.

"Cuddy, what's wrong?"

"I just don't understand why we have to go back there. It's stupid."

"Please tell me you're not going to be moody the whole time," he muttered.

"House, we have enough money to take a trip around the world for God sakes and you want to go back to that stupid island. It was well over a year ago, but I still have sores from laying on a rock bottom for ten weeks."

"Nine weeks at most. We slept on the beach a few times." He tried hard to loosen up the mood with light humor.

"Still."

"Look at it this way, killjoy. We brought food, we have a radio to get into contact with our pilot, we have blankets to protect your sweet little ass from hurting, we have clothes, blah, blah, blah. You're killing the novelty here with your ten thousand suitcases."

"You told me I could bring whatever I wanted. I did. Forgive me if I didn't bring one small duffle bag like you."

House didn't say anything. He wanted to, but bit his tongue back and walked past her. This was their honeymoon. He didn't want to start fighting already, but Cuddy was stressed out. It must've been the long trip here and the time changes. Regardless of what she said in the past, Cuddy just did not want to go to that island. She would much rather have stayed home and not went anywhere.

She slid her feet out of her shoes and reached into one of the suitcases to pull out a long white t-shirt. That was her subtle way of saying there wouldn't be any honeymoon sex tonight. House didn't blame her. Suddenly, he didn't feel so in the mood either.

He was propped up against the headboard and checking out what was on TV when Cuddy emerged from the bathroom, makeup off her face, and hair in a ponytail. She looked exhausted and a little agitated.

"Whatever happened to the "I don't care where I go, as long as we're together" thing?" House couldn't help but ask.

"I don't know," she muttered, slipping under the sheets beside him.

"Cuddy…do you really want to go somewhere else? Just name it and we'll go there if that's what'll make you happy."

"No, it's fine," she said crankily.

"Liar."

"House, just go to sleep. Our flight is at noon tomorrow and heaven forbid we're late."

House shut off the TV and snuggled into bed properly, getting under the sheets once on his side. Cuddy faced his direction, but had her eyes closed. A small patch of light from outside shown through the cracks of the curtains and hit Cuddy right in the face. It wasn't enough to bother her. House noticed a stray lock of hair that somehow untangled itself from the ponytail and lay in front of her face. He tucked it behind her ear tenderly.

"I love you," he said, resting his hand against her cheek.

"I love you, too," she said, a bit more relaxed than she was a few seconds ago.

He leaned in and kissed her. She kissed back. After they separated, she opened her eyes to look at him. He loved how they twinkled in the light. It brought a smile to his face.

"I'm sorry I was being bitchy," she said. "It's our wedding night. I don't want to remember this as the night we did nothing but fight."

"It's what we do anyway," he said with a light shrug. "Just because we own an official piece of paper shouldn't change how we act towards each other or change what we used to be like."

Cuddy laughed. "Oh, it better. You're not going to start inviting hookers over to our house."

House snapped his fingers. "Dammit. You figured out where I was going with this."

Cuddy knew he was kidding. She smiled. "I own you now, mister," she said, poking him in the stomach underneath the covers. "You do what I say from now on."

House smirked. "Oh you think so? What will you say if I do this?"

He brought his fingers to the side of her neck. Upon instinct, Cuddy laid her head upon his hand. "Don't you dare," she said, knowing what he was about to do.

House dug his fingers into her neck, getting her ticklish spot on target. Cuddy squirmed and gave a little squeal when he started to tickle her. He didn't stop there. His other hand reached around her back and got her almost nonexistent love handles, which was even more ticklish than her neck.

Cuddy tried vainly to push him away while laughing and bucking and telling him repeatedly to stop. It got to the point where the blankets were now lying haphazardly on the bed because of her moving around so forcefully.

House stopped soon after that, leaving Cuddy sighing thankfully. She only had to recover for a second before smacking him in the arm. "You jerk. You know I hate being tickled."

House was still laughing. "I know, but you're such an easy target, Cuddles."

"I am not!"

"You are so."

Cuddy shivered gently from the goose bumps she received from being tickled. She pulled the blankets up to her.

"Hey, fix the sheets!" House whined. "Thanks to your supertanker, I no longer have covers on my side."

"Whose fault is that?" she asked, getting situated and laying her head down on the pillow. It felt nice being able to cuddle up with House's half of the covers. "You tickled me, knowing what consequences would arise. You fix the sheets."

"I have a better idea," he whispered.

Before Cuddy knew it, her side was thrown aside as well. She groaned. "House, what are you doing?"

His bare hand slid up her t-shirt. "Attempting to make love to my wife, what does it look like?" he whispered sexily into her ear before nibbling on the lobe.

"We agreed that we weren't going to have sex until we made it to the island," she whined.

House never seized his tiny kisses, nor did she try to stop him physically. "We're only going to have this night once. Do you really want to remember it as a night we decided to go to bed early because we were too tired to make love?"

"It's not that we're too tired, _you_ made a deal."

House kissed her neck now, slowly and fully. "Screw the deal. I wanted to ravish you all day."

"You'd want to ravish me, even if I haven't showered in a week," she tried to say flatly but failed miserably. His kisses were making her body hot with desire. Still, she tried to fight it.

"House…"

His finger slipped inside her panties and found her slit. Cuddy gasped when she felt his fingers go to work.

"You never take no for an answer, do you?" she asked breathlessly.

"Never."

Their lips smashed together, thanks to Cuddy. House massaged her love button with three out of four fingers, loving how her hips bucked against his hand and the moans that disappeared into his mouth.

"Do you want me now?" he asked.

"You bastard."

"Is that a yes?" He slipped a finger up into her, causing her to cry out.

"Yes!" she said, unable to take the teasing any further. "Make love to me, House."

A good chunk of their sleeping time was replaced with sex that night, as most wedding nights were.

Cuddy was the first to wake up the next morning, completely nude and covered in a thin film of sweat. House's body was in a similar condition, only he was wearing blankets. Cuddy woke up, sprawled out with nothing over her. Feeling a bit embarrassed, as well as cold, she pulled back some of the blankets without disturbing House and was prepared to go back to sleep. That is, until she rolled over and looked at the clock. Her eyes shot open when she saw what time it was.

"Oh damn. House!" She turned back over quickly and shook him awake. "It's eleven-forty-five."

House didn't move. "So what?" he said in a tired grunt, reaching over to grab her pillow. The second he threw it over his face, she ripped it off hastily. The curtains were closed, but the light still bothered his tired eyes. "Come on, Cuddy, it's our personal jet, it can't take off without us. Now give me back the pillow."

"See, this is why I didn't want to have sex with you last night, you lazy ass," she said, smacking him in the head with her pillow.

She jumped up and ran to the bathroom to take a shower.

"And a good morning to you, too," he grumbled and then stifled a yawn as he scrambled out of bed.

Maybe a two-week getaway in the heart of the Caribbean sounded much more appealing to him than sleeping on a rock for two weeks with an irritable wife, but going to this island meant a lot to him. Not many things meant a lot to him. None that he would admit to anyway. Cuddy, no doubt, was the best thing that ever happened to him. He liked the feeling being with her on the island brought. It wasn't anything he's ever felt before. It was magical. That was hardly the word for House to use, but it's what fit. Without the power of that island, he'd still be looking down her shirt and staring at her ass. They wouldn't be anywhere near a relationship and they certainly wouldn't be married.

Married.

Married…

The word repeated itself in House's mind. He couldn't believe it actually happened to him. He didn't figure himself as the marrying type, unless he was drunk, strung out, and in Vegas of all places where there's a makeshift wedding chapel at every corner. Wilson always thought that would happen to him. Atlantic City was also a big no-no. House would be the type to get drunk and marry a total stranger. A hooker, no doubt.

But it wasn't anything like that. He was married to Lisa Cuddy, perhaps the finest woman this earth had to offer. He considered himself lucky. No other woman would take his crap like she would. They'd last about a half hour—just enough time for a quick screw, and then they'd be on their merry way.

"House!"

House cringed heavily. "_God_, woman, enough with the piercing tone. My ears are ringing."

"We have to be there in ten minutes! Why are you just standing around?"

Cuddy was in the middle of opening up the suitcase at the top of the pagoda stack and fishing for something to wear when House snaked both arms around her waist and pulled her to him lightly. "For someone who doesn't want to go to the island, you're pushing me awfully hard."

As on edge as Cuddy was, she did stop to appreciate the loving kiss he placed at the side of her neck. "They won't leave without us, babe."

"Sorry, House," she said, leaning back into his touch as he placed another kiss to her neck.

"Wow, you even blow dried your hair? That was quick."

"I didn't shower," she said, turning around to face him. She also put her arms around his waist. "There's no time."

"There IS time. I'll call our pilot. Take a shower and maybe if you're lucky, I'll join you," he said, reaching down to kiss the tip of her nose.

Cuddy smiled. "Oh you will, will you?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world."

They kissed gently and she was off to take a shower. House didn't join her. Instead, he called their pilot and told them they'd be a half hour late. He also called Wilson and briefed him on the events last night, much to Wilson's plea for him not to.

So far, things were going well.

Knock on wood.

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**Thanks for reading! Review?**


	8. Return to the Island

**A thousand apologies for the wait. Something happened with my Word program and some of my stories got infected :( This one and Royal Caribbean so happened to be one of them. I went in and recovered the documents as best I could. This one came back brand new, but Royal Caribbean is still missing a good chunk, so for those of you who read RC, know that's the reason I haven't updated that one, because of my st00pid Word :( Hopefully I'll have it fixed tonight or tomorrow the latest. **

**Hope everyone had a good holiday!**

**Enjoy :)**

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Cuddy felt somewhat of a sense of dread as they approached the island by helicopter. It was just as they remembered seeing it for the first time while drifting—trees suffocated the area, covering the entire island like a giant green blanket. It's been a year and a half, but they'll never forget the way the island first appeared to them. Cuddy thought of it as a blessing in disguise. Anything was better than floating dangerously on the ocean, laying on the emergency door to the airplane.

Now, not so much.

The closer and closer the island became, she wondered what she was getting herself into. On the plus side, she'd be spending time with House, alone, miles and miles away from civilization and other people. That was good. The bad part is that everything that could go wrong probably will, just like last time.

"You okay?" House asked, noticing Cuddy staring off into the distance.

"I want fresh batteries in that walkey/radio thingy, and a lifetime supply of extras. And just so we're clear, the second we get a storm of some kind, we're outta there."

"No, no, no storms this time of year," their pilot said, carrying a thick Hawaiian accent.

"We're in the middle of the Pacific, of course there will be storms," Cuddy said dryly.

"No, lady, I assure you, no storms this time of year," he repeated, sounding sure of himself.

Cuddy shook her head. "I don't care. I want you people standing by the radio At. All. Times," she stressed.

"Yes ma'am," he agreed, clearly not wanting to fight with the paranoid woman in the backseat.

Upon landing and kicking around the surface of sand in the process, they noticed that the island had not changed a bit, maybe except that it looked a bit smaller than last time. However, the thickness in the air felt the same, as well as the warm, salty breeze that brushed across their faces when they stepped out of the helicopter. The pilot killed the propeller, making it easier for House and Cuddy to unload their things without the sand blowing all around them. House was out in a second and looking things over as far as the eye could see, but Cuddy was having minor issues with her stacks of luggage. She got frustrated to the point where she refused help from the pilot when he asked and just flung the luggage violently from the helicopter into the sand. At the moment, she didn't care if they were back at the place that started it all, she would rather be anywhere else but this stupid island. Hell, even Death Valley or Phoenix on the hottest day of the summer felt more appealing than this.

Every little thing was bothering her, right down to her feet shifting in the sand as she tried to walk. She didn't have heels on this time, but it still was a pain trying to trudge through the sand, which seemed a lot softer this time than before. From experience, that meant that it hasn't rained in a while. If it did, the white sand would be caked together, making walking easy. Judging by the thickness in the air, mixed in with the heat, it won't be raining for a while. That was somewhat of a relief. With storms, there's usually rain. Unless it's a tropical storm, which doesn't need rain. Either way, Cuddy felt screwed. She didn't have a good feeling about this at all. There was an unsettling feeling at the pit of her stomach that wouldn't go away. She was happy to be here with House and tried to use that as her fuel. It was working so far. At least they had communication with civilization, enough water to last them the two weeks, food, fresh clothes to wear, proper bathing items, and just about everything else to kill the novelty of the trip. That was all of Cuddy's items. House just came with a set of clothes, should he need them. He wanted to keep it real. Cuddy spoiled it.

Both of them stepped aside as far as they could so they wouldn't get whipped with sand once the helicopter started up. Cuddy watched it leave with regret, but House had a smile on his face. Even though it was nearly out of sight, Cuddy still wouldn't budge. She just continued to stare at the small black dot as it became smaller and smaller until it was no more. It was only them, together, on their huge island, surrounded by nothing but water and trees.

"Hellooo, Cuddles," he said, apparently trying to get her attention for the fifth time and waved his hand in front of her face.

"This is going to be the worst honeymoon of my life," she mumbled, her eyes starting to hurt from the sun coming at her from the corner of her eye.

"It better be the only honeymoon of your life!" House said.

"Yes, House, which is why it should've been somewhere romantic, like…oh I don't know…a cruise for starters."

House waved his hand, as if to dismiss such a silly idea. "Nonsense. This will be fun!"

She looked at him dumbly. "Fun? Okay, I'll go sit in the cave for two weeks while you go off and have "fun." Hope you bought an iPod or your gameboy to keep you company."

He put his arm around her. "Oh, Cuddles, you'll keep me company plenty."

Cuddy fought hard to not shake his arm off and kept her icy cold glare tightly fixated on him.

"And if you call me Cuddles one more time, that helicopter is taking a u-turn. Help me with my stuff."

House gave her a mock salute. "Yes ma'am."

Perhaps this will be a longer two weeks than he thought.

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"Hey, look!"

Cuddy looked back at House, wondering what he found. He was holding up his old iPod that he originally came to the island with a year and a half ago. It was still in the same exact spot he threw it in the cave back then, which indicated that no one, or nothing, had been here since.

"Does it work?" she asked.

What made him chuck it in the first place was it being filled with water and barely working. House held an ear bud to his ear and clicked a button. His eyes widened. "It works! Wow. And it's at the same spot I paused it when the plane took on turbulence. Who knew I'd be continuing that song a year and a half later and a married man."

Cuddy smiled. "Fate works in weird ways."

"I'll say. Wait…hold it right there…Did I just see you smile?"

Instead of trying to hide it, Cuddy lowered her head and blushed, smile remaining.

"Wow, hold on, I must take a picture of this." He scooted over and reached for one of her suitcases that contained her digital camera.

"House, stop," she said, but made no physical effort in stopping him.

"No, no, this is definitely a keeper. Don't lose that smile!"

He found her camera in the side pocket and readied it.

"You act like I never smile," she pouted.

"So far, this is the first smile I've seen since our wedding vows, so shut up and smile."

Her smile definitely wasn't as big as it was when he found the iPod, but it was something.

"You're forcing it!" he whined after taking the picture.

"You said I had to smile, you didn't say if it had to be real."

"Just for that, I'm making you unpack your own suitcases," he said and scooted out of the cave, which seemed to be a lot smaller than last time, even though it didn't change a bit. He took the camera outside and took pictures.

Cuddy's smile returned. It was great seeing him so happy. She didn't want to spoil that for him. Although for the past year and some odd months, House has been nothing but great. He was off the Vicodin, thanks to the island, so that was one less thing to worry about. He was still a sarcastic jerk on a daily basis, stealing Wilson's food, as well as other people's food, making Wilson pay for his lunches, continue to oogle at Cuddy's breasts and ass, although now she would encourage that playfully. She would wear low cut tops and tighter skirts to work to tease him. He would make extra trips to her office to remind himself on what she wore today to work, because he "forgot."

Instead of unpacking, Cuddy watched House limp out further down towards the shoreline, having no problems in the loose sand. The light breeze rustled through his hair and the sleeves of his shirt as he raised the camera up to eye level and snapped a few pictures of the ocean.

"Good, now he won't want to come back here again. He has pictures to look at instead," Cuddy said to herself, albeit still smiling.

After House left her field of vision, probably to head to the other part of the island to take pictures, Cuddy shifted across the warm bottom of the cave and snatched another one of her suitcases. She set aside his iPod that was in the way and finished unpacking her things. They used the back of the cave as storage. She unzipped the suitcase that had the water and food in it. Suddenly, a warm feeling had overcome her. She really was ruining this trip, wasn't she? Now that they've gotten here in one piece and settling in, Cuddy didn't think it was so bad. As long as the pilot was right in there being no storms this time of year, she was golden. Two weeks like this, with the sun shining in the cloudless clear blue sky, the gentle rolling of the waves upon the shore, and not another human being or animal in sight, she was sure she could live with this. It's something House wanted and felt passionate about. There's not many things in this world he felt that way towards, if anything at all. If he did, he didn't admit to them, even to her. House was still a man of many mysteries. Cuddy was afraid that he'd never open up to her completely. She would try to help him do so along the way, but there were still some things he'd never tell her. And that was okay. Cuddy could live with that. There were a lot of husbands that don't tell their wives everything. As long as he came up to her every now and then with a hug and a kiss and admitted he loved her, she could live with that.

Mrs. Gregory House. Who knew. And it was all thanks to this stupid island. That was one of House's reasons to want to come back. The symbolism was another cause. There were more. There had to be more.

House came back to the cave about five minutes later, telling Cuddy about the pictures he took and how it's like they never left. When he sat down, still talking, she scooted over to him, wrapped her arms around the back of his neck, and went in for a kiss, shutting him up completely.

"I can see you're in a better mood," he said, licking his lips after one of her sweet kisses.

"Just don't get some disease this time and we'll be good," she joked. "Although I think I would've preferred Greece or the Caribbean, but if you're happy, I'm happy."

"Good, because I plan to make this the best vacation you've ever had," he said, reaching in for a kiss.

That kiss lowered Cuddy's guard. The familiar tingling feeling in her body whenever she kissed House had come to life.

"Promise?" she asked with a lust-filled whisper.

"Absolutely," he said, feeling the same thing she was feeling.

Looks like unpacking would have to wait until later.

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**Thanks for reading! Review pleeease :)**


	9. Not Like Home

**So sorry for the wait! **

**Thanks for the reviews on the past chapter. I loved them all! I'm glad to see people are still following this story, even with my lack of updating. I will try to be faster, I promise! Just don't give up on me :)**

**Enjoy :)**

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"Remember when you couldn't be on top?" House asked, throwing his shirt on after a short, but extremely passionate moment in the cave, bringing back some old memories. The much fonder ones.

Cuddy flushed. "Yes…"

"There's another thing we can thank this island for. Without it, you'd still be a bottom, baby."

Cuddy chuckled. "Yes, thank you island for turning me into a top." She reached in and kissed him.

"You should've worn your old black pants."

Cuddy scoffed. "No way. I wore them so much already that the fabric is practically disintegrating. I figured you'd enjoy me in short skirts instead," she purred, placing his hand playfully on her bare upper thigh, so very close to the hem of her skirt. "Your hands could…wander easier."

House's eyes were opened as wide as they could go. "You're right, this is much better."

Cuddy smiled slyly. "I knew you'd see it that way."

House huffed. "You want to have sex AGAIN, woman? God. It's all you want from me these days."

Cuddy's grin remained. "And that's all you want these days, so don't pretend like you don't. Besides, it's our honeymoon," she pouted. "We're supposed to have sex the entire time. Now bring your hand further up and claim your prize."

Since they just did it a moment ago, Cuddy was still dripping wet and very turned on. House was very much turned on as well. They ended up going another round before finally getting around to unpacking. By that time, dusk was brushing across the sky. Soon, they would have any natural light left to do the things that needed to be done.

Neither cared very much. Instead of going out to collect sticks for a fire, they laid together on their backs, curled up in one another's arms, watching the sunset behind the ocean. Where the sun was setting, it had turned the area into a marvelous pink. It was something they saw once last time and it so happened to be their very first night there that they saw it.

"It's a sign," House said when Cuddy brought that up.

"Hopefully not a sign of what bad luck we had last time," she said, running her hand gently over his chest and resting her head on his shoulder. Suddenly, she felt very tired.

"Don't worry, Cuddy. We have radios up the wazoo, batteries, matches, flares, pistols, uzis, first aid kits, and probably anything else to make Lara Croft envious. We have everything that killed the novelty of this trip and it's all thanks to you, my dear."

"Better to be safe than sorry. We just got married. I don't want to be a widow a week later, okay? And what's this about guns? We didn't bring guns!"

"Relax, it was a joke. It was to emphasize the fact that your overkill of paranoia is inhibiting my good time."

Cuddy sighed. "Are you going to keep reminding me of this the entire time? So I'm overanxious, so what. If you knew what I had to go through the last time, you would be too."

"I was the one sick!" he pouted.

"And I was the one who had to suffer while watching you die, knowing there was nothing I could do about it. Can we drop it, please?"

"Fine, fine, killjoy."

"I think we can go without the fire tonight. I'm too tired to move." She pulled a blanket up to cover the both of them.

It was only eight o'clock but both of them were spent. She reached up to kiss him goodnight and then snuggled up beside him. It wasn't that cold out tonight, but the little wind that there was blew straight into their cave, making her chilly.

House gently feathered his fingers through her hair, putting her physically at ease, but still making her mind wander. She really didn't have any reason to panic, unless a storm came in and messed with the radio frequencies to their walky, a huge title wave rose up and swallowed the island in one big gulp, or they both became to sick and weak to find their walky.

"Cuddy?"

"Hmm?"

"Stop thinking about all the bad stuff."

She chuckled. How did he know that?

"Think positive. You're the optimistic one here. When we were first trapped here, you stayed positive the entire time."

"Or so you thought. Deep down, I knew we were screwed. If it weren't for Wilson…we'd both be dead by now. Lord knows why you want to be reminded of that."

Cuddy went to look up at him, only to realize all she could see was a silhouette. The sun had gone down, only filling up the sky with a little bit of light before the stars came out. Still, House knew he was being glanced at and reached down to peck a tiny kiss on her forehead.

"I'm not looking at that aspect, Cuddy. I'm seeing you. Even though bad things did happen, where we are today is because of this place."

"House, I loved you, even without the island."

"Right, but you wouldn't tell me that. You needed help. You needed the help of the island spirits."

Cuddy frowned. "Island spirits? What is this, Tiki Farm on Facebook?"

Suddenly, House gasped.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I knew I forgot to do something! I forgot to harvest my Farmville crops before we left!" he pouted.

"Oh, heaven forbid," she said dryly.

"Maybe Wilson will harvest them for me. It's a whole farm full of sunflowers. Those things sell for 315 coins apiece!"

"House, it's a game. What would you rather be doing—Farmville, or me?"

"Is that a trick question?" he asked seriously, resulting in a slap to the chest.

"Okay, you beat me out of it." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him.

"Thank you for not making me compete with a computer game."

"There was never any comparison." He kissed the top of her head. "I love you."

It never failed. Every time he said that, she felt her limbs weaken. It was the most beautiful thing that could ever pass through his lips.

"Love you, too."

They fell asleep that night to the sounds of the waves crashing upon the beach.

* * *

Cuddy woke up alone the next morning to the scent of fresh rain. She could also see that the first few feet into the cave was damp.

"Good thing we didn't start a fire last night," she mused aloud, rubbing her face free of tiredness.

Even though it rained last night, the early morning sun shone brightly. Checking her watch, she saw it was just brushing eight am. She slept for almost twelve hours straight. Not once did she wake up, which was surprising to her. House's disappearance from the cave meant he's either using the bathroom or he couldn't sleep well last night, so he rose with the sun and is walking around out there somewhere.

Cuddy crawled out of the cave and immediately searched for House as far as the eye could go. Her eyes adjusted quickly to the harsh rays that slapped her in the face, making her search easier.

He wasn't anywhere to be seen. Instead of yelling out for him, she walked barefoot in the sand, which was now easily accessible, thanks to the late night rain, and attempted to find him quietly. The way he was so fixated on this island, she wouldn't be surprised if he was sight-seeing. She only hoped that he brought her camera, so they wouldn't have to come back here again. Like hell it was going to be an every year event. For vacations, Cuddy had other destinations in mind, most of which included people and communication, not deserted islands.

The island didn't change much in the time they were absent from it, although there were more branches on the ground, as if there either had been a lot of storms, or the island suddenly became animal inhabited. Unless animals can fall out of thin air, Cuddy would have to go with the first one. Fallen coconuts also populated the area, making her theory more plausible.

"Maybe he's out there picking his coconut companion," she mumbled, remembering one of his reasons for coming here being that "Harry" needed a girlfriend.

Holding that thought, Cuddy hid behind some tall ferns and grass on an upper level of ground and did her morning duties, suddenly missing an actual toilet. She also missed toilet paper and cursed herself when she forgot to bring some with her to the island. How could she have forgotten that of all things?

Coming to a stand, she saw House walking in the surf with his cane, apparently not looking for anything in particular. The light wind caught the bottom of his t-shirt and rumpled it up a bit. It also noticeably waved through his hair, but didn't disturb him like it did her. The breeze played with her curls and caused little strands to get in her face as she left that tiny area to join him. Why didn't she see him walking there before? The surf was visible from the cave.

When the waves came up onto the beach and over his bare feet, House stopped walking and looked out to sea, as if he was a lost sailor, wanting and waiting to go home. He had his back turned towards Cuddy and didn't see her coming down to him.

"Hey," she said, approaching him. "You worried me for a little bit there. Where were you?" She joined him at his side. He appeared to not even notice she was there.

"The other side," he answered simply, as if in a daze.

"The other side of what?" she asked, confused.

"Of the world. The island, Cuddy. Keep up, will ya?" he answered smartly.

Neither of them had ever been to the other side of the island, not even when they were here for two months. They weren't too keen on the idea of leaving the cave, just in case help came and they were there to see it. Traveling to the other side meant that they would be away from their base. And neither of them felt like exploring last time.

"How did you get there?"

"I flew." Apparently, there was no end to his sarcasm.

"House, don't be a jerk," she muttered. "Seriously. Rock formations are all over the place."

"Then I must've gone through the trees." He pointed up at the dozens and dozens of trees near where Cuddy just came down from using the bathroom.

"I was just up there. You came back along the shore."

"I came back down around the cave. You act like you don't believe me. Trust me, Cuddy, the only woman on this island is you."

She playfully hit him in the shoulder. "I know that, I'm just wondering. You hungry? We better cook that bacon we bought before it spoils."

He seconded that and helped her gather twigs and branches for a fire.

"You were up kind of early," she pointed out, trying to get a conversation going. He wasn't talking to her much.

"Couldn't sleep well last night. Not used to sleeping with pebbles trying to worm their way up into my boxers."

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "House, come on, don't be bitter. You wanted to come here."

"I'm not being bitter! You made a statement and I went along with it."

Cuddy shook her head and snatched up another branch. "Forget it."

"Cuddy—"

"You know what, House, if this is how it's going to be, then let's go home." She squeezed the twigs in her hand harder than expected and would surely leave a few marks. "At least at home, I don't have to sleep in the same room with you."

"Then sleep on the beach." He threw his hand to the wide-open beach behind him. "No one is stopping you. It's big enough, what more do you want?"

Cuddy pursed her lips as anger splashed onto her face. She didn't know why she was getting so worked up, but she was. She took a good swing and threw the twigs at House. They bounced off his chest and landed back on the ground.

"Screw this. I'm going home. You can stay here if you want. I don't care."

Her not wanting to be here in the first place made her have little patience for House, and for this place. It was a beautiful island, many fond memories, millions of bananas and coconuts to eat, and would probably win first place in a postcard contest, but enough was enough. If House was going to be like this the whole time, she'd rather not be a part of it. If it was she that wanted to come to the island and dragged him along, she could see why he would be moody. It was the other way around. She didn't want to play his games. Not now. They had a wonderful first night here and for no reason at all, he decides to get into one of his moods. Just what side of the bed did he wake up on anyway?

He grabbed her by the arm just in time for her to become out of reach.

"Just because there are radios with us doesn't mean you can threaten me with them every time I choose not to become chipper with you. You're one getting bent out of shape and throwing branches. Don't make me your scapegoat. If something is bothering you, don't take it out on me."

"I don't want to be here, House, I never did." She didn't put up a struggle. House was able to release her and have her not take off. "I'm sorry for flipping out on you, but that's why I did so easily."

House got quiet. He cast his eyes to the ground, staring at the twigs that were thrown at him, now in a heap at his feet. "I'm sorry."

Cuddy shook her head, having calmed down a considerable amount. "No…no, you don't have to be sorry." She lightly touched his arm. "I'm sorry for freaking out. I don't know what came over me."

"I asked you repetitively if you wanted to come here and you kept saying yes." Evidently, some of his annoyance was still there. It was very much heard in his tone.

"I didn't want to hurt your feelings. House, I've never seen you so intent on something. You really wanted to be here. What kind of wife would I be if I didn't grant you that wish?"

"An honest one," he said, reaching down to grab her handful of twigs and set back for the cave.

"I wanted to see you happy!" she said, following him at his heels. "Is that so wrong?"

"It would save me from unwanted conversations, like this one. Now that I know how you really feel, go home, Cuddy. Go have your own honeymoon in your office at the hospital. That's the only place that matters to you anyway."

Cuddy froze where she stood, watching House walk across the beach, not turning around to see if she was still following him. He didn't look back once, not even when he reached the cave and noticed he was the only one there.

Cuddy knew tears would come eventually, just not now. She sat in the sand, bringing her knees up to her chin, crying lightly. Why did it have to turn out this way? She blamed herself for flying off the handle so quickly, telling him she only came here to keep him happy. He must've known, but figured she could've possibly changed her mind about coming here.

Now she was sitting in the sand while House built himself a fire. Maybe it was a good idea to remain separated until they cooled down. Something was nipping at House and Cuddy couldn't get through to him, not when she was in a mood of her own. For a moment, it appeared as if they would be okay, but then it started right back up after apologies were said. Was that how it would be from now on? Not just on the island, but in general? Would being Mrs. Cuddy-House come with constant arguments, followed by tears? Should she just permanently give herself the guest bedroom when they got back home?

"Oh don't be stupid," she whispered to herself, brushing the tears away with the pad of her thumb. "We were fine before we came to this…place."

Cuddy smelt the fire House started a moment later. It was easy with the matches. She made sure to bring those. She also made sure to bring several books with her. One of those would come in handy right now.

Instead, she sighed deeply and sat there, hoping that the two weeks they were there would fly by.

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**Okay, I know what you all are thinking--"go figure, more drama" Yes, yes, I know, drama is my middle name, but things will get better between the two! They just have to get used to being on the island, that's all. **

**Thanks for reading! Please review! :)**


	10. Love and Blueberry Muffins

**Thanks for the reviews for the past chapters! I love them all! :D You guys are so good to me and I very much appreciate it! **

**This chapter is about a thousand words smaller than my norm, but I'm so long overdo that I had to put something up!**

**Enjoy :)**

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There were only so many hearts and stars Cuddy could trace into the sand before she became bored, but wasn't sure if she should go back to the cave. House already started cooking the bacon a moment ago. She could smell it, mixed in with the salty air. She wasn't a big bacon eater, but her growling stomach made it seem appealing. Too bad they didn't bring eggs. She'd love an omelet with toast right now.

Blueberry muffins would have to do. Whenever she decided to head back to the cave, that is.

With her fingertip, she traced her married name into the sand and studied it. It looked good. Seeing her name in print also made her realize that life is short. Being here before made her already think that, but being married over forty made her realize this as well. She still wanted to try for a baby and certainly wasn't getting any younger.

Erasing the hearts, stars, and her name, she decided it was time to return to House. The closer she got to the cave, the more nervous she became, as if this wasn't her husband she was about to see, but someone behind bars she was about to speak with for some reason or another.

House sat on his legs, holding the pan of bacon up above the fire, causing the meat to sizzle violently and the grease to spit.

"For the record, my office isn't the only place I wanna be, thank you very much," she said, entering the cave and plopping down near him.

"You always have to have the last words in, don't you, Cuddy?"

"Believe me, it's a rare occasion," she bit, reaching for her suitcase full of food. Yanking the zipper a little tighter than necessary, she unzipped the front of the suitcase and pulled out a bag of Hostess mini muffins.

"Why are you being this way?" House asked after a sigh, still not looking back at her.

"Me?! What did I do?"

"You never do anything you don't want to do. It bothers me that you came here, in spite of being against it." He turned the individual slices of bacon over with a fork.

"House, just let it go. Now that I'm here, it's not so bad. We got here safe, the pilot says there's rarely any storms this time of year, we got food to last us, adequate clothing and sleeping arrangements, I think I can handle two weeks of being here. It would be nice if my Blackberry worked out here, but I think I can live without it," she said, using a little humor to try to lighten up the mood.

House said nothing. Cuddy set aside her muffins and scooted up beside him. Gently, she rubbed the small of his back. "I'm sorry, House. I didn't mean to lie to you. You were so intent on coming here, you had it all planned out, paid for, and…who am I to stop that?"

House shook his head lightly. "I just wish you were honest with me about coming here. Not many things mean a lot to me, but this did."

"That's why I didn't hold it back anymore."

"No, you waited until we were here to complain, making me an even bigger idiot," he bit, setting the pan of fully cooked bacon off to the side and sitting back.

Cuddy followed after him. "House, I DO want to be here. I want to be wherever YOU are!"

"No you don't." He reached for an oversized walky that had a large antenna on it. He turned it on by a button at the top and handed it to her. "Go on, call the pilot in Hawaii. He'll be here in two hours to get you."

Cuddy slowly took the device into her hand. "But what about you?"

"I'm staying here. You said so yourself, it's already been paid for. Go back to Hawaii and stay at the hotel. Knock yourself out. Learn a hula dance or something."

Cuddy let the radio rest in her lap. She just stared at it, making no movements. This was her ticket out of here. Going back to Hawaii and sipping on coconut daiquiris on the beach wasn't a shabby idea. At least she knew that if she got off the lounge chair and walked about twenty or thirty feet due south, there would be some form of shelter there with running water, indoor plumbing, and maybe a buffet of some kind. Being stranded on this island for two months did a number on her, one that House would never understand, just as she'd never understand why he wanted to come back here so badly.

Cuddy had to suffer the thought of losing House to some disease and then, at some point, waiting to die herself. It's been two months since they were stranded. No one would find them. As she held a dying House in her arms, she knew she was next. She wasn't sure how, but her death would come, possibly from starvation. There's no way she would be able to eat again once House was a corpse, lying in this very cave. She'd curl up and join him, maybe even causing her own death. And that would be it. Their bodies would disintegrate together, becoming nothing but a pile of bones for all eternity.

This isn't something she wanted to be reminded of in any shape, way, or form. It just goes to show that she loves House enough to grant him this silly wish in returning to the island.

So who was right? Him or her? Or were they both being idiots about coming back?

"I'm not going," she said, turning the device off and setting it aside.

"Cuddy, just go. I don't want to hear you complain this entire time. Even last time with no hopes of rescue, you were still more optimistic than usual."

Cuddy sighed. "You're right, House, which is why I'm not going. I have no reason to be afraid anymore. What happened in the past is in the past and as long as you can promise me we'll never come back here again, I'm okay with being here now."

"Really? Cause I was hoping we would turn this into a yearly thing," he joked, even though no laughing of any sort was involved.

Cuddy grinned at him. "Not on your life." She reached in and kissed the tip of his nose. "Remember you said that I get to pick our next destination. I think we should go on a cruise to the Caribbean next year."

House returned her grin. "You're right, that does seem a lot safer. We'd be out on the ocean in the middle of no man's land on a huge ship that has every possibility of becoming a victim to the water. You ever see Titanic?"

"House, that was way back then. Believe it or not, technology has improved since then. Cruise liners don't sink."

"They could!"

"Yes, but they _won't_."

House whined. Cuddy poked him in the shoulder. "Stop it. Keep it up and I'll drag you on a cruise to Alaska."

House rolled his eyes. "Great, that's just great, now we can sink in even colder water than the northern Atlantic on April 15th, 1912."

"Says the man who wanted to fly out to an island to chill while on his honeymoon for two weeks instead of going anywhere else in the world," Cuddy said, stealing a piece of crispy bacon from the pan, which was now cooled off enough to eat.

"Okay, you watch, the next time we go somewhere, I'm going to be so obnoxious that you'll want to curl up into a corner and cry." He stuck a piece of bacon into his mouth and turned his head towards her, the end still sticking out.

Instead of eating her own piece, Cuddy reached in and bit the end off House's piece. "Mmm. Yummy."

"I'm pretty sure your strip tastes just as good as mine does."

Cuddy grinned and stuck a piece of bacon into her mouth, mimicking his former position. "Care to try?"

House leaned in and purposely met their lips together before biting off more than half the strip. They chewed simultaneously.

"You're right, they do taste about the same."

They finished their breakfast, that comprised of bacon and muffins and put the fire out when they were finished.

"So what are we going to do today?" she asked.

He gave her a look, followed by a smirk. "I'll give you two guesses."

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "Figures."

He then shrugged and laid down on his side. "Fine. I'll entertain myself in other ways."

He grabbed his iPod Touch and turned it on.

"Oh don't tell me you downloaded porn onto that thing," she said flatly.

"Nope. Skee ball! The next best thing to sex."

He got into it like a child.

"I hope your battery dies real soon," she muttered.

"Oh don't worry about that, Cuddles. I bought a battery-operated charger with me. Guaranteed to last for two weeks. Go grab my old shuffle in the back. I'm sure it has a few songs on there that you might recognize."

The sad part was that House was serious. How could they go from having a breakfast of foreplay and then stop completely? She's always teased him when he wanted sex, but never did he get out of the mood like this after she jokingly told him no!

Suddenly, Cuddy grabbed the iPod from his hand, tossed it, and straddled him.

"Hey! I didn't have my screen protector on that!"

"Oh so what, House, you can afford to buy a hundred more," she said, laying on top of him.

"God, woman, are you gaining weight? It's like an anvil landed on my chest."

Instead of slapping him silly, which is what she would normally do, she played with his hair and smiled. "You're lucky I love you."

"You're lucky I'm not weak and frail. Although I think I just developed serious chest related issues all of a sudden," he said, wheezing dramatically.

"Fine," she said, sitting up and attempting to get off him. "Be a jerk."

He grabbed her by the hand and pulled her back down to her previous position. "Just kidding," he joked with a smirk and brought her head down for a kiss.

"You're only good to me when you want sex," she pouted, not struggling to leave him.

"Does it look like I'm being good to you right now?" he asked flatly.

"Hmm…valid point."

She went to kiss him, but he held up a finger to his lips to stop her from coming any closer.

"What?" she questioned.

"This offer is only coming around once. Do you want to go home?"

Cuddy sighed through her nose. "I know I'm going to regret it, but let's just stay here. I mean…what's the worst that can happen?"

"You ripping my head off and suing for a divorce as soon as we get back home?" House offered.

Cuddy hit him lightly upside the head.

"See, you're already getting started."

"Shut up and kiss me."

He granted her request and the two kept plenty busy for the next hour or so.

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**Review please! :)**


	11. The Island's Secret

**Thanks for your feedback on the past chapter! I love hearing what you guys think :)**

**The story is just getting started, so no one jump ship on me just yet! I have lots of things planned for our favorite couple ^^**

**Enjoy :)**

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The sun was high in the sky when the two were through with lunch, which consisted of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It wasn't exactly what Cuddy had in mind for a meal, especially with squished bread, but it was better than living off bananas, coconuts, and crabs for two weeks. Anything was better than bananas and coconuts.

She was only able to eat a half of sandwich. Before she knew it, House pulled what he does to Wilson and swiped her other half, practically swallowing it whole before she got a chance to yell at him.

"You're welcome," she muttered, reaching for her bottle of water.

"You were complaining the entire time about how you didn't want it. Don't tell me you care that I took it," he said, mouth full.

"That's not the point."

"Yes it is. Stop arguing and put your cute little polka dot bikini on. I'm going to take you somewhere."

He slid out of the cave. Cuddy's brows furrowed as she watched him. "Where?" she couldn't help but ask.

"You'll see when we get there."

It didn't take Cuddy long to peel off the one article of clothing she had to don her blue and white polka dot bikini. She also threw on a very thin material light blue shirt that covered only the upper part of her body.

House reached out his hand to her to help her slide out of the cave when she was done. Cuddy took his hand and allowed the help getting out of the cave, wondering where he could take her. There was still another side of the island that they never saw the last time. They were too afraid to move from the cave, just in case an airplane or something flew by. They wanted to be able to run out onto the beach and flag them down. The furthest they went was to the summit to the streambed. That was a good hike, and a pain to climb after it had rained, but it wasn't far from the cave and the beach could be seen from the top. There was still a whole section of their two-mile long island that they never saw. Who knows what secrets it could be harboring out there.

Cuddy slipped on a pair of blue sandals after being helped out of the cave.

"Did you test the radios yet to see if they were working?" she asked.

House rolled his eyes at this. "Yes," he muttered.

"Liar."

"Cuddy, we're fine. Nothing will come between the radio and the outside world, okay? We won't lose reception, the batteries have a two year lifespan—"

"How do you know we won't lose reception? House, Hawaii is two hundred miles away and this area doesn't look very equipped with signal."

House shrugged. "Well, if all else fails, they know where we are and they're keeping us monitored. It cost me enough, so someone better be."

"Suppose there's a storm," Cuddy challenged, "and they can't fly out here. What then?"

"We sit in the cave until it blows over. Relax, Cuddles. Nothing is going to happen. Stop stressing. Just enjoy the vacation. What could be more relaxing than honeymooning on your own remote island without another human being in sight? Sex on the beach is no longer just a drink, Cuddy. "

Cuddy felt a smirk come to her face. "We already did that, remember?"

House acted as if he just remembered. "Ohhh yes. Sand in private parts isn't my cup of tea. I must remember to put a blanket down next time."

Cuddy tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear when the wind disturbed it. Her smirk turned into a smile. She loved when he hinted at sex. "Whatever you say, boss."

His eyes went wide, as if she had just said something inconceivable. "I never thought I'd hear you call me that."

"Yeah, well, don't get used to it. So where are we going that I had to dress up?"

For the past few hours, ever since their last sexual encounter, Cuddy had been sitting around in one of House's Pink Floyd t-shirts with nothing else except panties on. One of the upsides of being on a remote island is that they could run around naked if they wanted to, but at the risk of House wanting sex all hours of the day if Cuddy were to run around naked, she figured it was safe this way. His shirts just barely covered her upper thigh, causing her to have to wear panties. The way House's eyes wandered, she had to wear them. It's bad enough he thinks he can get sex every time he wants it. She didn't want to encourage it. The fact he wanted her to put on her bikini raised a few questions. Surprisingly enough, he didn't want to play Tarzan and Jane half-naked and swinging through the jungle on vines. This expedition must be a serious one.

"Do you hear anything?" he asked suddenly.

Cuddy, a little puzzled with that question, crinkled her face up in a small frown. Automatically, she listened to the sounds around her. "Ocean," she said simply.

"Exactly. Follow me."

Cuddy's frown grew deeper. "House, what are you up to?" she asked cautiously.

He grasped a hold of her hand and sighed dramatically. "Oh just come with me, woman. Stop asking so many questions. It's not like I'm going to feed you to the hungry lions or anything."

"Okay, fine." She gave in and followed him through sand and trees. Lots and lots of trees. There was no path, but she could see the prints from when he walked through here earlier. She could tell it was him, for there was always a dot in the sand beside his right footprint, because of his cane. Luckily, the sand was firm enough for him to walk in comfortably with his cane.

Twigs and broken branches got in their way sometimes, making it an awkward crossing. It must've been from a recent storm, for the twigs and branches looked freshly broken.

A mix of various types of trees blanketed the area with every type of medium to darker color green out there. The further into the mass they went, the less they saw of coconut trees and banana trees and more palm trees. Eventually, they also stumbled up on bushes that housed a form of berry. This was much further back, more towards the center of the huge island, and about a ten-minute walk from the cave.

"Think those are edible?" Cuddy asked, stopping to examine the dark red berries, and then the purple ones on a bush made of leaves that looked waxed.

"They're all edible, Cuddy," House said, speaking to her as if she were a moron. "You mean are they _edible_."

"That's what I said!" she said, picking a few off to look at them closer.

"I dunno. Try one, and if you're okay in a few days, I'll take that as a yes."

Cuddy chucked a berry at him, but missed him by an inch. "Thanks a lot. Please tell me this isn't what you wanted to show me."

"Not even close. We're almost there. Can you still hear the ocean?"

Cuddy stood up from the bush and stopped to listen. She wasn't paying attention the deeper they went into the island, but the sounds of the ocean now turned into something along the lines of running water.

"That's not the ocean," she said, making it sound like a question. "What is that?"

"Two more minute walk and you'll find out."

The closer they walked, the louder the sound of running water became. It filled Cuddy's ears entirely and she suddenly felt as if she were standing right next to a water fountain, about to throw in a good luck coin. Was that what the surprise was? A fountain? No way, there couldn't be a fountain in the middle of an island.

A moment later, it was Cuddy's turn to have a lit up face. There, before her on a raised platform about a hundred feet away, behind a mass of trees and rock formations, nested perhaps the biggest waterfall she had ever seen. Looking upward, she had to shield her eyes from the harsh rays from the sun as they threatened her spectacular view.

"How is that possible?" she asked after a pause to take in the waterfall's beauty. "Where is the water coming from?"

House rolled his eyes. "We're standing in front of a waterfall, something that was staring at us in the face the entire time, and all you can think about is where is the water coming from? Cuddy, pretend to be naïve like a little girl believing in Santa Claus, and go play. It's fresh water, by the way. Don't ask me how it got there, because I have no idea."

Cuddy couldn't wrap her mind around how something like this managed to stay fully functional with the lack of fresh water available, unless the island was full of it somehow. But it sure was beautiful. She had to wonder if the waves weren't crashing upon the beach at all hours of the day, maybe they would've heard the waterfall when they were stranded here before.

Approaching the waterfall, the water was so clear that the wall of rocks could be seen behind it. In order to become face to face with it, they had to step into a giant pool where the water was collected. It was about knee deep and a good quarter of a mile long.

"Maybe it rained a lot in the time we weren't here and the upper area of the waterfall is like a big basin and carries a lot of water," Cuddy suggested, still trying to figure this out. "Kind of like the streambed."

"Enough with your theories, Einstein." House stuck his hand under the waterfall and flung the lukewarm water at Cuddy. "Play in the water like a good girl."

They were able to talk comfortably over the sound without shouting, despite the sound of the falls being heard many feet away.

"Yes, daddy," Cuddy teased and stuck her hand through the water. There was plenty of room if she wanted to stand under it, but that would come at a later time.

"Daddy?" House questioned. "Mmm. That sounds almost kinky. We should try that during foreplay."

Cuddy crinkled her nose up at him. "I don't think so."

House curled up his lower lip in a pout. "Pweeeease? I'll call you mommy."

Cuddy's grimace grew deeper. "No, House! That's just weird! It's like you fantasizing about sleeping with your mother."

Now it was House's turn to scowl.

"My point exactly." She arched her hand to gather up a palm-full of water from underneath the falls to toss back at him. While she found this move insanely funny, House didn't. Looking as if he were angry, he casually wiped his face with his hand, not saying a word. When Cuddy saw the seriousness of his face, her smile started to fade.

"You okay?" she asked out of concern.

Just then, House grabbed a hold of her by the waist and took them both down to the water beneath them, which came up to the middle of Cuddy's stomach when sitting. House splashed her at full force with both hands anywhere he could shoot. Cuddy blocked her face and screamed upon instinct, followed by a series of laughs and surrenders.

"Ready to give up?" he challenged.

"Yes!" she shouted and laughed. "Uncle, uncle!"

House stopped and Cuddy rubbed her eyes. "Uncle, huh? And you like that better than daddy?"

Cuddy gave him a look and had the last splash.

"I like when you play rough."

Cuddy crawled on her knees over to where House sat a few feet away and straddled his hips, taking care not to put her full weight on his legs when she leaned back.

"Is this what you found this morning?" she asked, running her fingers through his damp hair.

"Yep."

"Then why did you come back to the cave so angry? I thought you'd be happy you found something like this."

House shrugged. "I don't know. But it doesn't matter now, does it? My name is Greg House, which should be a good enough excuse."

Cuddy smiled and leaned in to peck the tip of his nose with her lips. "Well, Greg House, this is the best surprise you could ever have given me."

"Really? You should've told me that before. I wouldn't have spent so much money on rings and would've bought you a ceramic waterfall that lit up instead."

Cuddy chuckled and leaned in to kiss him.

"Want to go back to the beach?"

"Not yet," she said, holding him closer and listening to the falls. "I like it here."

"Me, too," he said and went in for the kiss this time.

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**Review please! Your thoughts keep me motivated :)**


	12. Symbolism

**So sorry for the wait!**

**Thanks a bunch for the wonderful feedback ^^**

**I hope you like it!**

**Enjoy :)**

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After much exploring, mainly just finding different types of trees and plants and things, they ended up back at the beach later in the evening, but a good couple hours before sunset. There was still so much of the island that they didn't see. In looking down the coast alone, there was beach as far as the eye could see. Take an extremely large cutout circle if you will and place a dot in the lower left hand quadrant of it, towards the boarder. That was them. The rest was the island. For all they knew, there could be wildlife on the other side. Or maybe even people living there. That would be something if they were creating their own episode of "Lost."

Not wanting to settle in for the night, not until it got dark, Cuddy took House's hand and walked down with him to the surf. They discarded shoes upon arrival to the beach and got their feet wet with what little tide that came in. It was a quiet, breezeless evening, so the waves only crashed gently upon the beach.

"Is your leg okay to walk?" Cuddy asked with concern.

"Fine. Actually, I don't even need this thing." He tossed his cane into the sand.

"You sure?" she asked, watching the instrument hit the sand.

"You're killing the mood, Cuddles," he said. "Just walk."

Cuddy grinned. "I'm sorry. I'm just looking out for you."

"Well, don't. Let me look out for you every once in a while."

Cuddy's grin turned into a smirk. "I might be waiting a while for that."

The frown he gave her caused her to laugh.

"Fine. I won't look out for you then."

Cuddy playfully hit him in the shoulder. "I was kidding."

"Yeah, right. You business women don't need looking after."

"Why not?" she asked as another gentle wave crashed upon the beach and covered the majority of her bare feet with white foam. "Just because we're dominant figures in the work force, doesn't mean we're incapable of wanting to be dominated elsewhere," she said, and lightly tapped his butt.

"Ohh, you little minx, you," he said, causing her to laugh. "Careful or I'll dominate you right here and now, sand getting in the way or not. Hey, that gives me an idea. Let's play a game. Whoever can find the most places to have sex wins."

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "Oh great, that's a game I'll lose at," she muttered.

"I know, that's why I suggested it."

She glanced over and gave him the eye. That only made his grin grow bigger.

"Isn't this great, Cuddles? Even though we're still married, we can still have meaningless repartees on a daily basis."

Surprisingly enough, instead of flashing him another look, or frowning, her grin matched his. It did amaze her that they could still be themselves even though they had a title. She never gave it much thought anyway, but being married, she would assume they had to be serious and watch their words towards one another. That didn't stop House. It relaxed her knowing it didn't. She didn't want him to change just because he wore a ring on his finger.

"Yes, House, meaningless chitchat is what I look forward to with you everyday."

He took his hand back and slipped his arm around her waist. "I knew you'd see it my way."

Cuddy was being sarcastic. It seemed fitting. However, when he put his arm around her, she instantly forgot about the whole thing and leaned into him gently as they walked. House must've forgotten it as well, for he didn't say a word as they continued to walk along the shoreline, feeling the water swallow their feet every few seconds or so.

House's leg did feel a little strained from walking without his cane, and since he was off Vicodin, he had nothing instant to dull the pain if it ended up becoming serious. Since his last detox, he was able to control his pain without the use of the addictive narcotic. Every now and again, he would take something non addictive to fate the pain and it worked. He's tried various types of over the counter pain relievers and Excedrin appeared to do the trick quite nicely over Aleve, Advil, and Tylenol, which only lasted a few hours. Excedrin lasted all night, allowing him to sleep with no pain. Good thing he brought it with him to the island. After all the walking, he very much needed it, even if he used his cane. He didn't want to use it all the time. He wanted to keep up with Cuddy. One thing about his operation that he'll always regret is not being able to walk normally or run anymore. Running and playing with Cuddy in the sand would be nice. It's what most couples did on the beach, right?

The way House's leg was starting to hurt him, due to overworking it today, he wasn't sure he could even walk down the shoreline like this, with or without the cane. The pain suddenly came out of nowhere, as it usually does, causing his limp to become more prominent, raising some concern from Cuddy.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

He knew that was coming.

"I just have to sit for a second," he said, stepping up the beach painfully and taking a seat in the sand.

"Do you want me to run back and get your Excedrin?" she asked, stepping up to him.

He shook his head and started to massage his leg.

"Leave me alone, Cuddy."

Cuddy sighed. She knew that was coming. Instead of fighting with him, she sat down beside him. He always got defensive when his leg started hurting, figuring that it was the biggest inconvenience in the world to her. What could Cuddy do to prove that it wasn't?

"Let me go get your Excedrin," she said softly, covering his knee with her hand.

House closed his eyes and bit his lower lip as the pain came on strong. No amount of massaging was doing the trick.

He nodded, thinking that was a good idea after all. "Okay."

She leaned over and kissed him on the mouth before standing up. "I'll be right back."

Cuddy jogged back to the cave, which wasn't visible from where they were. They were a good few hundred feet away, giving House the opportunity to do what he was planning to do from the start. When Cuddy was out of sight, he hoisted himself up onto his feet and scurried quickly up the large beach and into the trees.

There was no leg pain. Well, there was, but it wasn't enough for him to succumb to the ground and starve for Excedrin. Instead, he had a surprise for Cuddy that he was planning all day. In order for it to have worked out the way it did, he needed to convince himself that it was real and feel deep emotions about what Cuddy may be feeling. It even caused him to develop beads of sweat on his forehead.

It couldn't have worked out more perfectly.

Cuddy, meanwhile, put her feet to work and didn't stop until she reached the cave. She didn't panic too much, for House did get this way sometimes. Pain consumed his leg and it brought the rest of him down with it. It usually only happened when he detoxed, or when he woke up in the morning, but they were walking a lot today. It's the most he's been on his feet in a long time. She didn't think twice that it was serious.

She found the Excedrin in a corner pocket of his duffle bad and wasted no time in jogging back. The island was still very much lit up, thanks to the bright sun a little over a quarter of the way to setting. It wasn't as bright as the afternoon sun, but it was definitely productive. Cuddy hoped that House would be well enough to walk back to the cave before sunset. Once the sun went down, it would be so dark that they wouldn't see anything. If the stars came out, they'd be able to see, but not very well. The trees and rock formations would turn into silhouettes and the beach was visible as far as the eye could see, which wasn't much at night. If the stars didn't come out, nothing could be seen, not even their own two feet when they walked. She knew this from experience. Since tonight was a cloudless night, Cuddy expected a blanket of stars to light their path, if needed.

She returned to the spot as fast as she left it, but ended up second guessing this being the spot she left him at and automatically started looking around for him. She was fairly sure he didn't get up and move, so where was he? There was a rock formation protruding out onto the beach that she was almost positive that they didn't go around when his leg started hurting. It was this spot! Even though she was sure of herself they never went past that wall of rock, she stepped onto the coastline anyway to see around it. He wasn't there either.

"House!" she said, continuing to turn in a circle and look around for him. Was he playing a joke on her? She knows she didn't past him, nor did she stop short.

He said nothing to acknowledge where he was and it started making her very nervous. Was he unconscious from the pain? Hell, did something come and take him away? At this point, Cuddy's mind assumed anything.

"House, this isn't funny! If this is a joke, stop right now!"

Still nothing. She felt completely helpless and even had the smallest amount of tears brim her eyes. As she was about to shout out for him again, he called for her from where the trees were. How did he get up in there?

"I swear to god, if this is a joke, I'll kill you," she said, muttering to herself while walking up the beach and towards the voice.

House didn't sound worried or anxious, which was a good thing. He didn't sound in pain either.

"Are you okay?" she asked, brushing a stray branch away so she could step through without hitting it.

When she did, she stumbled upon one of House's sheets he brought with him. It was covered with a handmade basket made of sticks, white plastic plates, two matching cups, and a centerpiece of a cup full of tropical flowers he picked. There were even candles sticking up from the sand that were lit. House was sitting on his side of the blanket and pulling out some sandwiches from the basket.

Cuddy's mouth was dropped the entire time of seeing this.

"You faked your leg hurting so you could surprise me with a picnic?" she questioned, making sure she was going the right way with it.

"Yep," he said. "Actually, my leg was starting to hurt, but not enough to start a panic. Take a seat." He gestured his hand to a spot in front of him.

Wearing a smile, Cuddy sat Indian style in front of her plate. Even though she wanted to strangle him for playing a cruel joke on her, the thought behind it was sweet. House never ceased to amaze her. Even though they were married, he still continued to surprise her with little spur the moment things, as if they were still in college and dating. He kept her young.

"This is beautiful," she said, looking at their little meal.

"I would've offered you pasta or whatever, but considering our location, cold chicken sandwiches would have to do. Plus, if we didn't eat them tonight, they'd go bad by tomorrow."

"Who knew you could be so sweet," she said, accepting the sandwich wrapped in plastic wrap.

"I'd like to think that some part of me has the ability to surprise you at random intervals."

"How did you pack the candles and plates without me knowing? And where did you get the basket?"

House sighed and reached his hand back into the small basket. "Figures you'd start analyzing this."

Cuddy chuckled. "I'm just curious, House. I love it."

"Besides, you'll never believe me if I told you. About the basket, not the plates. The plates and the blanket came up this time around."

Cuddy frowned, but her smile remained. "What wouldn't I believe?"

"This basket…I started making it from frail twigs and the skin of branches…after the last storm. I just now finished it this morning."

Cuddy couldn't wrap her mind around what he just said. "But…there were no storms here."

"I know. This was supposed to be a surprise for you the last time we were here. I planned to finish the basket and surprise you with dinner, but I ended up getting sick. I found it in the same spot I left it in last time."

Cuddy looked at the basket. It looked almost professional. He must've spent a lot of time on it before. "How come you never mentioned it?" she asked, not taking her eyes off the masterpiece.

He shrugged. "I never had a reason to. I planned to…tell you how I felt about you…that night." He spoke these words shyly, just as he usually did when it came to revealing his feelings for her. "I didn't have candles, or plates, or a blanket, or chicken sandwiches, but I did have this." He pulled out a flimsy piece of thick green grass that was in the shape of a mock bracelet with a manmade heart tied to the top. Even though it was practically a weed, Cuddy nearly wept at the sight of it.

"This, Cuddy, is one of the reasons why I wanted to come back here. I had unfinished business that was nagging at me ever since we got back home. I wanted to tell you how I felt before, but now I wanted to fall in love with you all over again."

He slipped the bracelet easily past her hand and onto her wrist. Cuddy admired it up close, although it was hard to see through blurry vision. Has this really been here ever since last time?

"It's beautiful, House."

"Of course, it was before the necklace and the ring, so it would've meant more then."

"It means so much now," she said honestly, brushing her falling tears away.

Because he made it himself, Cuddy felt this way. The symbolism was there.

"Well, that was then. This is now." He reached into the basket and pulled out a long, rectangular red velvet box. Cuddy covered her mouth and struggled not to cry. "This, Lisa Cuddy-House, is a thank you for being the reason my life is worth living, for allowing me to be your husband, and for coming back with me to the island so I could complete something that everyone in the world would think was the stupidest reason for returning somewhere where no sane person would ever return after what happened the first time around."

Cuddy laughed at him saying all that in one breath. It sounded like he just put words together and didn't care if it made sense or not, as long as he got his point across.

Cuddy received the box and opened it. There, before her, lay a gold bracelet with small emeralds, her birthstone, imbedded in it.

"It's beautiful," she said. There were so many words she wanted to say instead, but that was the only thing that rose to the surface first. Beautiful seemed so fitting.

House put it on her. It was a perfect fit on her tiny wrist. Not too big, nor too small. She couldn't stop looking at it.

"Don't I get a kiss?" he asked, interrupting her.

Cuddy leaned over, cupped his face with one hand, and leaned in to kiss him. "Thank you, House."

"Still think returning to the island was stupid?" he asked, face still inches away from hers.

"I never thought it was stupid. I just thought it was pointless to relive such horrible memories. I never looked at it from your point of view. I have to admit though that Gregory House wanting to come back to an island so he could finish a basket."

House grinned. "Well, you know I always start what I finish. My mommy raised me well."

"Yes, she did." Cuddy leaned in for another kiss.

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**I had just become aware that I keep skipping over the smut on you guys! Next chapter will be smutty, I promise! I'm a smut reader, not writer, so that's my excuse ^^**

**Thanks for reading!**


	13. Lovely Echoes

**Hey everyone! I'm back, at least for now. Couple of warnings for this chapter. One, there's finally smut! And two, this isn't my best. Lately, with my House hiatus and all, it's really affecting the content of my stories. Well, you guys be the judge and tell me what you think. I also didn't read it over, so there might be one or two mistakes in spelling. I hope none of you are losing interest in this story, the few of you that are still following it, even during my stupid hiatus. I hope my updates will be more frequent now!**

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

They found their way back to the cave before dark. Cuddy placed her little basket where it wouldn't be damaged. It was too big to fit in a suitcase, so she would have to carry it onto the helicopter when they left. She figured that the island wasn't so bad after all. Between the beautiful sunny days, the waterfall, the salty sea air, and the peaceful seclusion with the one you love, it just doesn't get any better than this. Well, maybe indoor plumbing and a comfortable down feather bed to sleep on would make it a little better. "Did you bring those candles?" House asked. "It's too hot to sleep with the fire on tonight."

Cuddy opened up the front of one of her suitcases and pulled out a few lavender scented round candles that were thick enough to last a few days if lit constantly. If those failed, there was always flashlights. Cuddy definitely came prepared.

House groaned when he saw the light purple candles.

"What?" Cuddy asked, setting them down.

"You're going to make this cave smell like an old ladies club with those things," he complained with a whine.

"Lavender is not just for old ladies, House."

"The smell reminds me of my grandma coming over to play bridge with her old friends."

"It's all I had. If you don't like it, sleep on the beach," Cuddy said, throwing him a grin while digging for a box of matches.

As soon as she emerged them from her suitcase, House reached over and snatched them. They easily came out of her hand.

"House!" she said, instinctively reaching out to snatch them back before he pulled them too far away.

"You are not lighting those things in this cave," he said simply and hid the box behind his back like a baby thinking that once they were out of sight, they were gone and forgotten about.

Cuddy, fortunately, was a little smarter than that. She sighed and reached her hand out. "Give me the matches, House."

"No," he said stubbornly and folded his arms with a pout.

"In about five minutes it's going to be too dark to see anything, now give me the matches."

"Use the flashlights."

"Don't make me get up and get it," she said, keeping her arm stretched out across the gap between them.

"Oooh, I'm so scared," he said. "The big bad boss lady is threatening a cripple."

"House," she whined. The sun was setting and it wouldn't be long before the only thing they saw in the cave were each other's silhouettes.

"Come get it, Cuddles," he challenged. He took the item from behind his back and shook it to tease her. The full box of matches moved about, encouraging her to take the challenge.

Instead of doing so, a small smirk came to Cuddy's face. "If you don't give them to me, you get no sex for a month," she said, thinking she had him.

House spent a few seconds processing the horror of those words, but then shook his head. "Nah, too easy. Your sex drive is much more challenging than mine, Cuddles. You couldn't last two days without sex."

"House, I went five years without sex before we started sleeping together. If I can do it then, I can do it again."

House's eyes went wide. "Five years? Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Good god woman, how did you survive?"

"The same way I will be if you don't give me those matches."

The look on her face told House that she wasn't kidding. Still, House was House and he wanted to keep the fun up. Having Cuddy at his mercy was ever so delightful and never got old.

"Come get it."

Cuddy had no choice. Rolling her eyes, she got to her knees and started to walk towards him.

He drew the box back. "Not like that."

Cuddy frowned. "Not like what?"

"For every step you take, you have to lose an article of clothing."

Cuddy chuckled unhumorously. "Go figure your miniscule mind would come up with some sort of perversion for me to get what I want."

House ignored that and pointed to her top. "Remove that first. I think the twins need to breathe."

"The twins are just fine, House."

House shrugged. "Okay then, remove those." He pointed to her pants. "It's been a while since I've petted the cat."

Cuddy make a face. The cat? "House, if you don't give me the matches, you'll never see "the cat" again," she threatened, smiling smugly after losing the frown.

"Cuddy, if you really wanted the matches, you could've came and got them. It's not like there's a barrier between you and me and I'm not much of a threat. You're enjoying the challenge."

Cuddy's shoulders slouched. "House, just give me the matches so we can have sex and go to bed."

House's eyes lit up like a boy on Christmas morning. "Really?"

"Yes."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

And just like that, House tossed her the matches. Cuddy grinned. "You're right, that really was easy."

She extracted a match from its home and lit the candles, one by one. The cave emerged itself in light, as if it were daytime outside. Cuddy looked around. "Much better."

"Whatever. Take off your shirt," he said, pointing to her top again.

"Why should I?" she asked, hiding the matches back in her suitcase.

House's face fell. "You said you would!"

"And that just goes to show that you're the one who can't go two days without sex. There's more to life than sex, House."

"But we're on our honeymoon!" House whined. "We're supposed to have sex all day and night."

"The begging for the matches wore me out. Turn around so I can change."

With a very loud, over-exaggerated sigh, House lifted himself onto his knees as swiftly as he could, reached out to grab her arm and pulled her to him. Instead of being angry, or upset that he made such a brisk move, she half expected it and giggled as she was pulled into his lap.

"Never keep your husband waiting when he wants sex."

Cuddy wrapped her arms around the back of his neck. "Mmm. Husband. That sounds nice," she purred.

"I know an even nicer sound," he said.

"Yeah? What's that?" she asked.

"Hearing you beg for more, if you know what I mean."

Cuddy shifted herself and straddled him, taking care not to disturb his infarction.

"Since you teased me, I think it's only fair I tease you a little, Dr. House."

House wore a very thin material shorts, so when Cuddy teased him by lightly moving her hips back and forth, he felt every stroke. It didn't take him long to berate her for teasing him.

"What goes around comes around," she purred in his ear before gently running the tip of her tongue along the side of his earlobe.

House placed both hands on each of her ass cheeks and encouraged her to move faster. Since she was wearing jeans, the pressure was stronger and the friction more intense. Instead of fighting him, Cuddy figured this was the best way to tease him. She granted his unsaid request and grinded her hips into him and felt him grow. When his body got tense and the encouragement quickened, that's when Cuddy stopped moving all together. House didn't like that one bit and groaned at the loss of movement.

"Why did you stop?" he breathed, missing her contact.

"Sucks to be teased, doesn't it?" she asked, and liked it that she was the one who gave the last smirk. It didn't happen often, especially not with House. Beating him at his own game was one for the hall of fame.

"Oh you evil, EVIL woman."

Cuddy chuckled. "Oh I know. Now should I make you finish on your own…or…finish what I started?"

"It's always good to finish what you start."

Cuddy sat back in thought. She knew House was in pain from what she did, but she couldn't help but think that he deserved it. Maybe this would teach him not to take her matches in the future!

"God woman, you're already stinking me out of this cave with that old lady scent and now you're depriving me of sex. Don't make me strip you."

Cuddy did have every intention of sleeping with him, but teasing him first was comical, and very necessary. But she had needs to and after seeing what she created in his pants, there's no way she was going to let that soften without her having some fun first.

She put her arms out to the side. "That sounds like a good idea, House. Come strip me," she said, saying the last sentence in the sexiest voice she could muster.

House didn't waste a single second after hearing that command. He stayed in a seating position and shifted himself over to her. She didn't move this time. Instead, she watched his eager fingers fumble with the button of her pants. He didn't even bother unzipping the zipper and yanked the shorts down. She helped him remove them, but before she could even bet them away, her bathing suit bottom followed. According to him, she was removing them a little too slowly for his taste and helped her. He held his arms around her while she straddled him again. He didn't let her get as far as taking her top off. As long as her bottom half was exposed, he was okay with that.

House wanted a quickie and Cuddy anticipated that. She got him excited too fast to take it slow. The way she was turned on after all the teasing, this wasn't the only round they would go tonight.

The only time he took it easy was when he entered her as soon as she straddled him. He wasted no time. Cuddy wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and hugged his head as she swallowed him all the way down to the base. Him penetrating her always knocked the wind out of her. It never failed.

She didn't expect him to take his time. The second after he was all the way inside her, the cave was lit up with their moans, groans, and eventually, screams of elation. They went at it like rabbits in heat. House did all the work. Cuddy was sure to have handprints at her sides from him grasping her so hard. Usually when they were sitting, Cuddy was the one to do all the work. She had no idea how House could have so much control on the bottom. That goes to show just how much of a sex god Gregory House really is.

A minute later, they both reached their peak, and their voices echoed off the rocks as they cried out one another's name in the narrow space.

Even though House did mostly all the work, beads of sweat also formed on Cuddy's forehead. It was hard to gain composure after that groundbreaking climax and House had to hold her up as her limbs went numb, body falling into his.

"I really hope you're not done," he breathed into her ear as her head rested against his. "Because I know I'm definitely not."

"Definitely not," she said, drawing her head back and planting a kiss on his mouth.

This was the start of yet another sleepless night.


End file.
